Author: Schyler Norton
Yesterday I took a ride to the Broadway Market, the East Side’s not-so-hidden-and-yet-sometimes-forgotten gem. I discovered, as I had not previously known, that the market is in fact open during times other than the holidays. Walking around inside it is easy to see that Buffalonians love their pierogies.
Mark and Barbara Lancaster own Keeping Traditions Pierogi, and are one of four pierogi vendors inside the Broadway Market. Everyone in the pierogi business is friendly, but there is a healthy amount of competition among them. Mark told me that Keeping Traditions has the largest pierogies and the longest lines during the Easter rush, but he lets the food speak for itself.
Mark and Barbara bought the business from a friend about a year and a half ago. The friend wanted to retire, and buying the company made sense since Barbara, growing up in a Polish household, had been making pierogies since she was 2 years old. They would be providing something that they were familiar with. The Lancasters are serious about what they do. They drive an hour and a half nearly everyday to get to the Broadway Market. Luckily, that drive has been worth it. They have seen enough success that they are opening a second location a little closer to home in Silver Creek, New York.
Keeping Traditions offers both traditional pierogies as well as new and adventurous flavors. Barbara told me that the new flavors such as spinach and feta, buffalo chicken, or jalapeño cheddar are a hit with the younger crowd, while the older crowd is staunchly traditional. Keeping Traditions offers 15 different varieties, so you’re able to please any and all age groups. All ingredients are bought locally and all pierogies are handmade using a hand crank rather than automatic machine. Their operation looks more like a Polish grandmother’s kitchen rather than a company’s production area.
If you can’t make it to the Broadway Market, Keeping Traditions is probably closer than you think. Their pierogies are in 15 different stores including the Lexington Co-op. Sadly, not all flavors are available in locations other than the market, but the trip is definitely worth it. As of now you can buy the pierogies frozen from the market, but over Easter and for a special event on January 14th, Keeping Traditions as well as four other distributors will make them for you to eat in house at The Broadway Market. Make sure to stop by the market on January 14th for Polka, Piwo, and Pierogi. Sample all the pierogies and tell us who you think has the best pierogi at the Broadway Market.
Keeping Traditions | 999 Broadway | 716-698-2280