[EVG file photo] [EVG file photo]
Neighbors:
Empellon Cocina, Subway, McDonald's, Caracas Arepa Bar, Luke's Lobster Bar, Porchetta NYC, Pylos, Ricky's and Cafe Mogador
Comments:
-- Prime East Village Location
-- Currently vacant
-- Direct deal
-- Seeking established food operators
[evg file photo]I am sorry to announce that on this Christmas Eve Polonia will be closing its doors permanently. We would like to thank all of our amazing customers who have supported us this quarter of a century. As all good things, Polonia's time has come to an end. It is time for new ventures. Keep your ears open for NYC Pierogi Factory. And again... Thank You!
Jozef and Renata were both born in Poland and traveled to New York City in the early 1980’s in hopes of following The American Dream. Arriving in the US with very little money, they both worked dead end jobs until saving enough money to open their own business, a restaurant which would allow them to share their culture and memories with other New Yorkers living in this dominantly Ukrainian and Eastern European neighborhood — The East Village.
Hi everyone, I feel like most of you have misunderstood what I was trying to say. I have no plans, whatsoever, of trying to scare off Polonia's long time patrons. I have become very well acquainted with many of them and would be sad to see them not come back. I have been frequenting Polonia since before I could walk. Many of these patrons have watched me grow up.
Everyone seems to be focusing on my "hoping that the old customers which really enjoy to nag and complain will find somewhere more suitable to their liking" comment. I did not mean to say that the older customers are naggers and would rather not have any of the older customers come in anymore. What I meant was that I have some customers (not all or even majority) which have been coming to Polonia for decades and prefer it the way it was before and make a point to tell not only myself but all my servers how much they dislike the changes.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If you do not like what I am doing that is fine — I do like the changes that I am making and most of my customers also like the changes. What doesn't make sense to me is why these patrons keep coming back and keep complaining. I won't be changing Polonia back to a diner. If you enjoy eating at diners (which I don't mind once in a while) then go eat at a diner, but please don't come in and tell me that you rather have Polonia as a diner. Its frustrating to have to listen to these complaints and frankly I find them to be a bit rude. I promise I am not changing things around just to annoy the long time customers.
Also, I in no way meant to criticize the original owners, my parents. What they did was great. They came here without a penny and created a business that was able to put my sisters and me through school. I know more than any of you how much time, work and hardships it took my parents to do what they did. My father worked seven days a week for fifteen years — I barely saw him. They did all this for my sisters and me and believe me, I appreciate all of it.
I am trying to make sure that Polonia stays afloat and doesn't disappear entirely like the many of the local spots have. Whether you like the changes or not depends on your taste and each person is allowed their own opinion. Hopefully you can all stay a bit open minded — maybe you'll find that you like Polonia better now than before.
There are customers that have been coming to Polonia since the day that it opened. When I first started making changes about a year and a half ago, I had to start small: slightly changing the decor, the music selection and re-organizing the menu so that it was more comprehensible and visually appealing. Up to that point the 'old-timers' didn't have much to protest about. However, when I hired Olaf Wozny as my head chef, I began to hear complaints.
Olaf understood that changing a diner to a restaurant isn't an easy task and has to be done slowly as to not warrant too much attention in the beginning. Olaf slowly started changing the recipes, using better, higher-quality ingredients which are more expensive than the ingredients previously used — we had no choice but to slightly raise the prices. That is when the older customers started to complain. They appreciated the quality but weren't willing to pay for it. Even now I have some of the older customers complaining about our coffee which is a high-quality coffee, that we have priced at $1.50; the deli on the corner near us charges the same price for coffee of a much lesser quality.
Another issue is that most of the main entrees take about 15 minutes on average to prepare. Most of the older clientele can't seem to understand this, even though in the menu it says that our dishes may take about that long to make because they are made per order and asks the customer to please be patient. Even tonight I had a table of three walk out half way through their meal. They were served water, bread, wine and soups all within 10 to 15 minutes. After waiting just over 20 minutes (since they sat down) they decided that their three combination platters were taking too long so they paid for what they already had and walked out.
Many of the older customers left for a few months but returned. The prices in the East Village aren't cheap — no matter the quality of the food or the ambiance. I'm sure that after realizing that we are still better priced than most spots in our area, and have better prices and better quality food than any other Polish/Ukranian restaurant or diner in the area, including Veselka, they will be sure to come back — even though I have to say that my staff and myself are hoping that the old customers which really enjoy to nag and complain will find somewhere more suitable to their liking. Besides, we are starting to attract a younger, career-oriented crowd.
These changes are necessary for two reasons. The East Village is quickly becoming a more sophisticated area filled with people who are willing to spend a little extra money to eat good food, have a nice glass of wine and truly enjoy themselves. Personally I don't believe that diners have the right ambiance for the new clientele that is surfacing in our area.
Secondly, it is very important to my chef and myself that we produce and sell a product which we are happy with and are proud of. Olaf will not be happy preparing food which was cooked 12 hours ago and is now being heated up in the microwave and I likewise will not be happy serving people that type of food or serving them any food at a location which I do not feel gives off the vibe that I would like it to. My restaurant represents me — it allows both Olaf and myself to express ourselves. I am looking forward to having everything exactly the way I want it and to see people really enjoying themselves at Polonia Eatery. We have already made a great deal of progress and I believe things will continue moving in the direction I hoped they would.
