Popular pierogie business prepares to open distribution center in Unity
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In 2001, Terry Smith-Rawecki, her husband, Jan, and her mother got together to make about 30 dozen handmade pierogie to take to the farmers market in Ligonier.
Gosia’s Pierogies sold out that afternoon, and by the end of that summer, they were bringing 90 dozen pierogies to the popular market.
“Everyone loved them so much, they told us we had to come back the next year,” Smith-Rawecki said through a longtime friend and interpreter. Both Smith-Rawecki and her husband are deaf. “So we eventually built a separate building next to our house, but we couldn’t keep up.”
The Unity couple later purchased property along Route 981 and gradually have been migrating the business to the new location, where they will host a grand opening at their new distribution center from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Starting with the classic potato-and-cheese pierogi recipe that Smith-Rawecki said she can trace to at least her Polish great-grandmother, Gosia’s has expanded over the years to add fillings including sauerkraut, sweet potatoes and even unusual fillings such as prunes.
“People didn’t like those ones too much,” she said. “What’s really popular right now is our potato-and-cheese pierogi with jalapeño peppers.”
The packaged trays of pierogies are precooked, already boiled and only in need of some fried onions, a little olive oil and butter, she said.
To help with the packaging, Gosia’s recently added a custom-built machine that automates the process.
“The rep from Reiser spent two weeks working with us, training everyone and helping us get familiar with it,” said Jan, who grew up in Wroclaw, Poland, and moved the U.S. at 25. “It does all the packaging and sealing.”
From a fun family activity that began in Smith-Rawecki’s kitchen to a full-fledged business, Gosia’s production process largely is automated — although she was quick to point out they still peel all their potatoes by hand.
Gosia’s also is a deaf-friendly business. Smith-Rawecki said most of its eight employees are partially or fully deaf.
Smith-Rawecki said the biggest challenge they’ve faced is connecting with large-scale food distributors and getting into regional grocery chains.
“But now that we’ve gotten into places like Giant Eagle, the food speaks for itself,” she said.
Gosia’s Pierogies is at 5803 Route 981 in Unity. For more, see GosiasPierogies.com.