Visiting Gosia’s Pierogies, a Deaf-owned business

Alex (Daily Moth): Hello! I’m here in Royal Oak, Michigan. This is a festival called “Arts, Beats, and Eats.” There is a deaf-owned business here!

Jan Rawecki: This is my job. Let me show you!

(B-roll of Gosia’s Pierogies food stand with staff cooking pierogies and serving a line of customers)

Terry Smith-Rawecki: My name is Terry Smith-Rawecki. This is my sign name.

Jan: This is potato and cheese. We cook it for a short time and then put it up to serve. It tastes really good.

Alex: I want to try… one of each.

Terry: This is a kielbasa, which is a Polish word.

Alex: That’s cool.

(B-roll of pierogies and kielbasa on paper plates)

Alex: This is how you sign pierogies. I’m going to try the feta one. It’s crispy on the top, and very soft on the inside. I can taste the feta and the potatoes. It’s very good, a 10/10.

Jan: I used to be timid when working, but now I feel I can face hearing people with no problems.

(B-roll of Gosia’s truck, which is parked on a street)

Terry: Since 2001, which means it’s now the 20th year anniversary. Happy Anniversary!

(B-roll of Gosia’s food stand)

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Terry: The reason why we came to Michigan is because there is a large Polish population. They love pierogies. So location is important to us on the demand for pierogies. I wouldn’t have much luck in the south, like Texas. Where are the best areas? Chicago, Detroit, Ohio (it’s all right), Pennsylvania, and New York City. That region is just right and pierogies are popular.

(B-roll of Jan showing a large building on his iPhone)

Jan: We’re building this very soon. It is a factory that makes pierogies.

Terry: We just established a factory/warehouse. It is not a restaurant. We have contracts with food service providers such as Sysco and grocery stores. We distribute the products to them. It’s expanding really rapidly, wow!

(B-roll of pierogies being cooked and the food stand)

Alex: So, that’s Gosia’s Pierogies! It was a really cool experience meeting the owners, hearing their story, eating their food, which is champ. They said they are really proud about showing that “Deaf can.” It’s really inspiring. Just look at the people, so many are enjoying their food. If you want to know more about them, or order their food frozen, you can on their website.