We recently connected with Erica Pietrzyk and have shared our conversation below.

Erica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Pietrzyk Pierogi started very organically. I was tending bar when my friends and patrons wanted food while I was working. I muttered that I could make pierogi. What started as one week with my family’s original recipes turned into every week. I quickly realized if I was going to do this, I wanted it to be bigger. I was also working at Dean’s Foods in their USDA facility so I spent a lot of time there, learning the coding, how bigger systems worked and distribution. I was getting ready to make the leap and start my company but wanted a short get away first. I went on a vacation only to discover the person I was with was going to test my strength by how much torture they could put me through and I somehow survived domestic assault. To the trans woman strutting down Rampart, thank you. You were the only one to check on me as I sat there bleeding in a neck brace too weak to stand. Everyone else either walked by or looked away. Your words, “It’s always darkest just before the light” keeps me strong when I feel I can’t go on and I thank so much. After healing, it was time. There was no way I made it through all of that to not do something to help others. Pietrzyk Pierogi officially came into existence is 2017. Since then our mission has always been to make amazing pierogi, with quality ingredients by people who love what they do and where they work. We stand strong our beliefs of being inclusive and diverse as a company. We help others along the way and grow together as a team. Hence our slogan, Make Pierogi, Eat Love. We do what we do because we love it.

Erica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Pietrzyk Pierogi at it’s core is a pierogi manufacturer. We produce pierogi you can find in the frozen section of your local grocery store. We also cater events like work parties, birthday parties, weddings, funerals, late night snacks, pop ups, festivals, you name it, we’ve probably done it. We also have our retail store front where you can purchase our products 6 days a week and every Saturday we turn the griddle on so you can enjoy our pierogi while you shop the sheds of Eastern Market.

Our newest revenue stream is an old one but much cooler now. We opened our Immersive Experience Center in 2023 where you can sign up for one of our culinary courses and take your turn at rolling the dough.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

This all started off of $20, so in the beginning, there was absolutely no marketing budget. I needed more of a way to get the awareness out there about my monthly pop up events. So I used a tool that so many people I knew used regularly to meet new people, Tinder. I made a profile, letting people know I was the Pierogi Queen of Detroit with some thirst trap photos and all of a sudden, my events were getting busier. Ladies knew it was a safe space and men, like food so it was perfect.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I opened my first brick and mortar, I was living in a house in Boston Edison. My landlady and I had talked about me buying the house from her; a conversation she started when I first moved in but didn’t want to sell until after 3 years. I signed the lease for the business, was in the process of opening and two weeks before our store opening, we received a letter, letting us know she was kicking us out and terminating our lease and we needed to move in 30 days. 30 days isn’t a lot of time to pack a house you thought was going to be your first home, we moved things from storage there that I wouldn’t have moved had I known I would have to move again. It’s even less time when you are weeks away from opening your business. I had to get the land witch to give me more time, find a new space to live and pack and move. I am very lucky my now Husband, was so very supportive in handling so much of the home situation as I was nearing burnout from opening the store. I found a space, we signed a lease and he oversaw the moving. My last move as she had told me was that she would no longer sell it as she only wanted to rent it now was to call the city and report it for not being registered as a rental as I knew it couldn’t pass a rental inspection between the windows being sealed shut, the lead paint and the friable asbestos she failed to tell anyone about. I figured since I left the house nicer than when I found it because I put hours of labor into a home I thought I would own, she should have to at least make it livable before renting to another person and failing to tell them about living hazards. I learned she sold the house after as she was unwilling to bring it up to code. I could have fought more but it was easier to pivot and move and leave the headache behind.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pietrzykpierogi.com
• Instagram: Pierogi_queen_
• Facebook: PIETRZYK Pierogi
• Linkedin: PIETRZYK Pierogi