Piast Meats & Provisions

Specialties

Founded in 1991, we are a family-​owned and operated group of Polish specialty food stores with three locations in Northern New Jersey. We make and sell a wide assortment of our own traditional homemade kielbasa and cold cuts, handmade pierogies, rare imported European groceries, and delicious hot takeout meals. Everything is prepared naturally according to traditional Old World recipes for an unmistakable authentic flavor.

History

Established in 1991.

Piast Meats & Provisions was founded in 1991 by Henry and Maria Rybak, immigrants from southern Poland whose dream was to bring the authentic, natural flavors of their homeland to the US. Indeed, most of the recipes still in use today originate from Mrs. Rybak’s mother’s kitchen in the Old Country. The name «Piast» refers to the first royal dynasty of Poland in the 10^th century. With that unique name symbolizing traditional Old World elegance, the pair opened their first shop in Maplewood, NJ.

The 1899 Springfield Avenue location began as a retail store and quickly established itself as a destination for homemade, authentic Polish sausages, cold cuts, and pierogies. A few years later, a larger store in Garfield at 800 River Drive was opened, modeled after the traditional Polish meat markets that also offer groceries, dairy, candies and prepared foods. A smaller third store, also in Garfield, opened in 2002 with its own butcher shop.

Meet the Business Owner

Martin R.

Business Owner

«Everything is made according to the traditional way,» son and partner Martin Rybak explains, «The process of smoking meats is both simple and sophisticated.» Piast’s world-​famous pierogies are also models of authenticity: «The dough, the filling, the rolling of the dough, the stuffing, the boiling are all entirely done by hand.»

«I think that the trend is that people are going back to their roots, away from mass-​production and towards locally made foods,» Mr. Rybak explains. «Not only does it stimulate the local economy, you know where your food is coming from. You know who made it. You can shake hands with the guys who made it.»