LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Local businesses in Luzerne County are busy serving Easter dinner staples.
From kielbasa to pierogis there's plenty of popular spots in NEPA.
While they're closed now, Leonard's owners say it's been a busy week for the small business.
This is just one of the places across NEPA that's been preparing for months for Easter.
It's a popular Easter dinner meal on the menu for many:
"This kielbasa. The good old smoked stuff," said Vermont resident Phillip Marks
And at Leonard's Kielbasa Market in Wilkes-Barre, they've been serving up fresh and smoked varieties of the popular polish sausage for more than 100 years.
Participants in period dress recreate Stations of the Cross
Owners say Easter week is one of the busiest times of the year, with preparations beginning in January.
"This is our prime time this is our money-making season. Easter is probably our second busiest right after Christmas. So it's great seeing all the new customers and old that have been coming for years through our doors every single day," expressed Steven Makuch, co-owner, Leonard's Kielbasa Market
Customers like Phillip Marks, who makes a point of stopping for kielbasa every time he returns home to NEPA from Vermont.
"They don't make it like this in Vermont so I come back home every now and then, I get the things I can't get in Vermont," said Marks.
Meanwhile at NEPA'rogi in Nanticoke, staff are busy preparing pierogis
"For us when it comes to Easter we run double shifts, usually we only work 3-4 days pinching a week, and we do all seven when we're preparing for Easter time," stated Lauren Gorney, owner, NEPA'rogi
The shop serves up big and small batches of hand-pinched pierogis.
NEPA'rogi owner Lauren Gorney says while the boost in business for Easter is special, what's more fulfilling is getting to pass on her family's tradition to the tables of others.
"It's an art form that's been passed down to me. It came from way beyond me. It came from over in Poland and it's been handed to me, so it feels like an honor and a responsibility to make these handmade holiday foods," added Gorney.
Both businesses are open Saturday.
