Buffalo Rising Online

You know how sometimes you have a conversation with someone and come away with the impression that things are good, and everything is as it should be? After I spoke with the Cichocki Brothers at Camellia Foods, a 3rd generation Polish Sausage and Ham producer in Buffalo, I came away knowing that at the center of everything they do is Family Tradition—as it should be.

The Cichocki brothers, Peter, Patrick and Eric, are at the helm of their Grandfather Edmund’s business that he started nearly 75 years ago. Edmund Cichocki, Sr. was a Polish immigrant with butcher’s skills, and he began using them and his family’s traditional recipes for making both fresh and smoked Polish sausage and Hams. He and his wife Gertrude carved out their portion of the American Dream in a bustling neighborhood on Buffalo’s near East Side when they moved the business to it’s current address at 1333 Genesee St.

Edmund Jr. and wife Kathleen operated the business until Ed Jr.'s passing in 2007. Ke…