For more than 150 years Milwaukee has been a beacon of hope for Polish immigrants. Adam and Wioletta Bartoszek want to continue that today by preserving language, culture, and traditional foods. Having run a grocery store in Poland, Wioletta had confidence she could do it again in Wisconsin, “I’m proud I’m Polish. I think we are hardworking people.”
Wioletta’s Polish Market is located near the same Milwaukee neighborhoods where hardworking Polish immigrants first settled. But, another key ingredient Wioletta had culinary experience in Poland. The store boasts an authentic, old-fashioned meat counter and the smell of kielbasa fills the air. “There’s a wide variation of sausages, so everyone really wants to know what’s the difference,” says Adam. From fresh Polish to paczkis and pierogies, the market attracts both young and old.
At the end of the day for the Bartoszeks it’s about family, traditions and hanging on to that Polish pride.
