Levittown Polish Deli Owner Dishes On Opening During Coronavirus

LEVITTOWN, NY — Krakowiak Deli opened with a bang. Foot traffic and sales were strong at the new Polish eatery on Gardiners Avenue in Levittown. People flocked the deli in droves to get their hands on authentic Polish foods such as tasty pierogies, kielbasa, stuffed cabbage and more.

Tom Wojcik, who was born in Krakow, Poland, and owns the deli with his wife, told Patch on Wednesday they wanted to bring real Polish flavor to Levittown. They moved to the area from Queens about three years ago and opened Krakowiak in early March following a year of planning and construction.

"When we opened up, our first week it was banging," Wojcik said. "We had a line up to an hour outside of people trying to get in."

But those were simpler, albeit brief, times. The coronavirus began to pick up steam. Less than two weeks later, the economy would be shut down.

"Boom. The quarantine kicks in," Wojcik said.

As the virus tore through New York's hospitals and nursing homes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered nonessential workers to stay home and all restaurants to shift to takeout and delivery only.

Wojcik has experience in running a business — he also owns an IT company — but has never owned and operated a deli. His eatery had just opened, and he had no numbers to project how many sales to expect each day even before the virus took hold. Estimating a drop off would be near impossible. That makes ordering products from suppliers a tall task.

"Once the quarantine kicked in, it's kind of slowed down," he said. "I couldn't even judge any metrics yet on how the business is doing."

Since the stay-at-home order, sales have dropped by about half since that stellar first week, he said. On one day he could see 200 or more customers. The same day the following week, he could see half that. The third week, it could be less or more.

Wojcik had to downsize the menu in response, much to the dismay of the kitchen chefs, who pride themselves on making quality Polish dishes.

If there's one small trend he's noticed, it's that Krakowiak seems much busier on Fridays and Saturday. It's closed Sundays and business drops Mondays and Tuesdays.

Krakowiak usually has about five or six people working at any time. While it offers delivery, up to three people can come into the store at a time to buy food, particularly products that are imported from Poland, such as juices, jars and condiments. If they cannot properly social distance, customers are expected to social distance while inside, and if they're unable, they wait at the door.

As a safety precaution, staff now wear masks and change gloves after use, including handling money. Wojcik even had plexiglass installed around the counters to improve safety, and staff use commercial-grade disinfectants on surfaces such as door handles and food cases. The kitchen is also deep-cleaned twice a day with a strong chemical.

"People are appreciative of it," he said.

Wojcik added: "I'm a neat-freak. My wife is as well. We keep it clean tremendously."

Normally open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wojcik shifted the hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. As more people are allowed to return to work, they'll consider extending the hours, at least in the afternoon. And if business continues to stabilize, the menu will be expanded again, too.

Even with the unfortunate timing in opening, Wojcik is keeping his head up. He worries about being able to pay rent and wages like any other business, but in some ways, he considers himself lucky. Small businesses like his are more "destination" shops that are still in demand. People come to his shop from as far away as Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for his mushroom soup.

"Given the circumstances, thank God that compared to other businesses and business-owners, they're really struggling," he said. "I think the food industry is a little bit on the safer side."