Oswego’s Pierogi & Pints sees early success with fresh, in-house favorites

Business has been picking up at Pierogi & Pints, the new Polish restaurant in Oswego, N.Y. that opened just a few weeks ago.

All of the pierogis besides the Buffalo Chicken flavor are made by the owner, Donnie Halczyn, in-house and often the day that they are sold. 

Shelbi Pottorff, a server at Pierogi & Pints says that they have sold out of certain perogies on multiple occasions. While the intention after they are made and boiled is to pack and freeze them, according to Pottorff certain flavors sell so well they often never make it to the freezer.

“One night we ran out of sweet cheese, one night we ran out of spinach and one night we ran out of potato, but never more than one,” Pottorff said. “It’ll be packed in here.” 

In addition to their in-house pierogi production, all desserts are made by Halczyn’s wife, Melissa Allard. A few different desert options are offered on a rotating basis, some options include cream puffs and chocolate cake.

The most popular food item at Pierogi & Pints is the Picnic Platter. It comes with three pierogies, one golabki, one kielbasa with sauteed onions and sauerkraut and one choice of a side. The dish is also served with rye bread and butter.

Halczyn says his favorite menu item has to be the pierogies. “The potato and cheddar pierogi will knock your face off,” Halczyn said.

While the businesses liquor license is still in the works, Halczyn expects it to be approved around June 8, just in time for the start of the summer season. Multiple Polish beers will be offered on draft in addition to a variety of traditionally Polish vodkas behind the bar.

Halczyn is a Syracuse native who has grown up around Polish food his whole life and wants to bring a taste of that traditional cuisine to the City of Oswego.

Halczyn began sharing his love for Polish food by operating out of a food truck for a year prior to finding the permanent space at 17 W. Cayuga St through Facebook Marketplace listings.

 “We started out as a food truck, we were the Babcia’s Boyz before this,” Halczyn said.

In an interview with Oswego News Now on Mar. 27, prior to the grand opening of Pierogi & Pints earlier in this month, Halczyn told reporter James Fitzpatrick that the menu Babcia Boyz provided will only expand in store.

 In addition, the food truck will remain operational in the summer months with the intention to travel to larger events while the storefront serves the Oswego community daily, according to Halczyn. The business has received a total of seven google reviews, all of which were five star ratings. One user said, “Awesome takeout pierogi experience in Oswego at Pierogi and Pints … It’s a nice little space on Cayuga Street. We had their food truck food this summer and they never disappoint. The kielbasa was perfect and snappy, but my favorite was the Buffalo Chicken.”

Pierogi & Pints operating hours are Tuesday and Wednesday 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Thursday-Saturday 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. These are expected to expand to later hours when the business’ liquor license is approved.

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