NEPA’rogi owners Frank Marcinkowski and Lauren Gorney stand in front of their Market Street businesses prior to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand opening celebration in Nanticoke on Saturday.
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Patriot Square in Nanticoke was transformed into ‘Polka in the Park,’ starting off the NEPA’rogi grand opening celebrations with yoga, dancing, vendors and more on Saturday.
The Polka Bandski entertained guests with live music during Polka in the Park on Saturday.
NANTICOKE — You could smell the potato-and-butter goodness walking down Market Street in Nanticoke on Saturday.
And that could only mean one thing.
The staff inside NEPA’rogi was busy preparing hundreds of pierogis in preparation for the official grand opening of its new brick-and-mortar location that was set for noon Saturday.
As preparations were well underway, NEPA’rogi owners Frank Marcinkowski and Lauren Gorney were busy talking with supporters who gathered around Nanticoke’s Patriot Square for the Polka in the Park celebration, hosted by the establishment.
“We’ve been in operation in the new spot for some time now,” Marcinkowski said. “We’ve been tying up a couple loose ends and everything, got all the cosmetic stuff done, we wanted to celebrate. We wanted to bring the town around.”
The duo wanted to do something that not only brought the community together, but all the other locally-owned businesses as well.
“We’re honored to be a part of it. It’s not just all about the pierogi — because we wanted to make all the other businesses be a part of celebrating as well,” he added.
How it all began
NEPA’rogi started in 2021 during the pandemic. What began as an in-house operation grew into a mobile food trailer before renting out a space at Tarnowski’s Kielbasa on Main street in Nanticoke.
“They gave us every square inch of that place they possible could,” he explained, noting that selling pierogis out of a kielbasa business really helped propel interest and sales. “That really got us on our feet and we were able to start looking around for a bigger spot.”
NEPA’Rogi moved into its new location on Market Street in January. The shop offers all the pierogi classics — such as potato and cheddar and cabbage — as well as some new takes on the polish favorite, like buffalo chicken wing. They even offer dessert-style pierogis.
A musical celebration
Outside, a crowd began to gather in the park, dancing to polka music from the Polka Bandski, shopping other local businesses and drawing with sidewalk chalk. Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski made an appearance for the ceremony, as well.
Taking a break from dancing, Michealene Helmecki-Geiser and Richard Geiser stopped to talk about the event.
A Nanticoke native, Michaelene made the trip from New York to wish her cousin well on her new venture.
“Its a wonderful day to celebrate her success, celebrate the food in Northeast Pennsylvania,” she said.
Marcinkowski and Gorney hope to continue holding such events in the city, and praise the administration and community at large for being so supportive and encouraging.
“The small-town benefit is that if you come up with an idea, and you have people who want to see the community be better, they support that, because you have a shared interest in enhancing the community,” Gorney said.