Neighborhoods like Slavic Village have experienced so much hardship and divestment in recent years that we almost expect the other shoe to drop. That could have been the fate of Krusinski's Market (6300 Heisley Ave., 216-441-0100), a 75-year-old family-run business, had Dave Bundus not stepped in.
"I've been going to the market since I was a kid," Bundus says. "I grew up right down the street from Morgana Park and I used to ride my bike there to get candy bars and little drinks."
Bundus says that he made one of his regular visits to the shop this past winter to stock up on smokies, kielbasa and pierogis when he learned that the shop's owner, John Krusinski, was planning to retire.
"And I was like, John, I need my pierogis, so you gotta find somebody to buy your business and he's like, well, it's been for sale for about a year but we haven't really had any offers on it," he states.
After conferring with his wife, Bundus decided to purchase the business, which officially took place earlier this month. After a transition period during which the previous owner will show the new owner the ropes, Krusinki will bow out. But the name and so much more will endure -- including the women who craft the pierogis.
Over the years, the Krusinskis have pared down the product line, eliminating items such as sausages, blintzes, potato pancakes and others. Going forward, it's all about the pierogis, says Bundus.
"Their claim to fame is their pierogis and that's why I bought the business," he says, adding that many people know them by their brand name, Janka, named after John Sr., who started the business with his wife in 1951.
"All of us who grew up in Slavic Village know Krusinski's Market, but if you didn't grow up in the neighborhood you don't know Krusinski's Market, but you do know Janka pierogis," he explains. That's the name shoppers at places like Giant Eagle see on packaging.
Shoppers at the Slavic Village market will find classic varieties like potato and cheese, sweet-cheese, potato and seasonal flavors like sauerkraut and apple. Those products are available fresh or frozen.
Like the one he is preserving, Bundus' is a family-run business.
In addition to keeping himself flush with pierogis, Bundus says that maintaining a neighborhood staple is even more vital.
"Every time you turn around there's another business closing," he laments.
Krusinski's Market is open 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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