Brian Riesbeck likes to crack a joke when he’s asked about the most popular flavor of Paczki.
“Well, our fastest mover,” he says each time, “is prune.”
Get it? Yes, you do.
But the Paczki business ain’t no joke when it comes down to the numbers, and that’s why the folks at Riesbeck’s Foot Markets soon will celebrate 10 million Paczki sold since the tradition was born in the 1990s.
“We do sell a good number of them every year and have for a lot of years now,” Riesbeck said. “And I believe we have billboards going up this week to celebrate that we have sold 10 million paczkis since we started. It’s a crazy number, but we’ve gone through the sales and that’s where we are.
“It’s definitely a big promotion for us, and it’s a promotion that’s led to our food markets getting recognized all over the country. Even the larger chains pay attention to what little ol’ us are doing here in our valley, and that’s a great thing for our employees because they deserve that attention. They work so hard all year long, but especially at this time of year. We’re grateful for all of them.”
The paczki tradition began after a retired bakery director of Polish decent introduced the pastry to Riesbeck’s parent and grandparents, and the rest is history.
“They’re made from scratch every single day. Each morning they are hand-rolled, filled and fried, and what we make that morning, we sell that day, and then it starts over the next morning,” he said. “We have five of our stores that produced them, and then we get them out there to all of our other locations.
“And yeah, we run out a lot,” he said. “But you can count on them being there again the very next day.”
Phony Phonetics
One thing is for sure: Sounding it out is fruitless.
Pak-zicky? Paz-kie?
Neither are close, of course, but there are close but different enunciations.
Riesbeck pronounces it as “punch-key” while others say, “poonski.”
“We have heard so many different pronunciations for Paczki, it’s really funny to us,” Riesbeck said. “If you look at the box and the way it’s spelled, P-A-C-Z-K-I, it’s tough to pronounce right there. If you do pronounce it correctly – punch-key – and then look at how it’s spelled, you just shake your head. But at least they’re delicious.
“The number one sellers are actually Bavarian Cream and Red Raspberry, but we have several others that we make. If someone is looking for a particular flavor and their location doesn’t have it, they can place an order with the bakery,” he said. “
“Our bakery is our calling card because we see the value in making everything we do from scratch. That’s how we can be sure we’re selling a superior product to our customers,” Riesbeck said. “We do a lot of flavors like cream cheese, apples, peanut, and the Bavarian Cream and Red Raspberry, and we’ll have them available until Easter.”
Paczki vs. Pierogy?
He’s repeated the challenge for all to hear. Last summer, though, the suggested duel was an online popularity contest, but this time, Riesbeck has dared one of the Pittsburgh Pierogies to race one of his Paczki.
Anywhere, anytime, he says, too.
“A pierogy is filled with potato, right? See, that’s a lot of starch,” Riesbeck insisted. “A pierogy would not beat a paczki in a race. There’s no way. It just wouldn’t happen.
“I hope we can prove it someday,” he added with a snicker. “Name the place and time. That’s all I’m saying.”
