Pączki at Smurawa's Bakery in Pulaski on February 25th, 2020. (Rob Sussman/WTAQ)
PULASKI, WI (WTAQ) — The COVID-19 pandemic has canceled a lot, but it’s not canceling Pączki day.
That’s ‘POONCH-key’ for the uninitiated.
Greg Smurawa’s Smurawa’s Bakery in Pulaski serves upwards of 30,000 Pączki every Fat Tuesday. That tradition is going to continue, even in the face of COVID-19.
“We’re going to take extra measures in trying to keep people distanced,” Smurawa told WTAQ. “There’s going to be less encouragement to wander around.”
It’s all to keep the fried balls of dough–filled, of course, with fruit, cream, or chocolate and coated lovingly in sugar–flowing out the door on Fat Tuesday, or “Pączki Day”. This year, it’s February 16th.
“The Pączki will go on, dammit,” Smurawa said. “We are going to do our damnedest to get everyone their Pączki. Maybe we’ll spread it out and make a Pączki season rather than just one day.”
It hasn’t been an easy year for Smurawa’s. Staffing shortages and ebbs and flows in business have plagued the bakery.
“There are good spurts, but they’re very sporadic,” said Smurawa. “That’s the one thing that’s been very challenging.”
Last year, Pączki Day fell on February 25th, and WTAQ was there. Check out our video from last year’s revelry below.
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