The holidays can bring out the nostalgia in all of us.
Family parties, complete with special foods, remind us of our youth. For those looking to entertain without hours in the kitchen, area businesses and organizations still make those special ethnic delicacies to help us continue traditions.
“People want the comforting foods of their childhood,” said Simon Zychowicz, manager of Stanley’s Market in Toledo. “The food you ate at Christmas as a child is the food that will take you back to being with your parents and other family members and the joy of the season.”
Stanley’s Market, 3302 Stickney Ave., is known as the best place to get kielbasa in the city, and, during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, it is also the busiest.
Mr. Zychowicz said even though their brand of sausage is available in grocery stores throughout the area, many people still make the pilgrimage to the north end store.
“I would say a large percentage, maybe 50 percent, of our customers are Polish or come from a Polish family,” he said. “Whether they come from Poland or were brought up with the foods, people during Christmas and Easter look for those familiar and comforting flavors of their childhood.”