The story behind Jaju Pierogi

Continuing our Jaju’s legacy.

We’re Vanessa and Casey, and we’re the two sisters behind Jaju Pierogi.

Sixty years ago, our Jaju (dziadziu, or grandfather) started a Polish food business with his brothers and sisters in Western Massachusetts—hand-crafting pierogi, golabki, and kielbasa for their community. Fast forward to the ‘90s and you’d find us spending our weekends cutting, stuffing, and sealing pierogi in the back kitchen alongside our elders.

Pierogi was a regular item in our freezers and on our dinner plates, something we took for granted. When we moved to Boston for school and work, pierogi became more difficult to come by and we had to wait for our mom’s deliveries from the family store. Pineapple and cheese pierogi were our favorite - not very traditional, but one of our Jaju’s specials.

Accustomed to buying mass-produced pierogi, friends and roommates started asking, “Hey, where did you get those?”, and we laughed for a while that we should start a pierogi business in Boston. Finally, in 2015, we decided to head to the family store and dust off our grandfather’s recipes. We got to work on the kitchen table, tinkering away and sampling to our friends, before beginning to sell our pierogi at farmers markets in Winter 2016. We named our business Jaju Pierogi as an ode to our family’s story and the inspiration behind our brand.

We’ve grown quite a bit since then, selling to stores across the country. But you’ll still see us on the road, at events and sampling at stores, meeting both new and veteran pierogi fans and introducing them to Jaju. Not only was our grandfather a Polish work horse, he also created lasting relationships with his customers and community and loved making people smile. One of our favorite parts about our business is carrying on his legacy and sharing that same enthusiasm for both business and personal connection.

Make sure to check out our store locator, or drop us a line below! We’d love to hear from you, whether it’s a simple ‘hello’, or an idea or suggestion. We hope to see you out there!

Vanessa and her Dziadziu, continuing their family tradition.

Family photo of Casey and her Dziadziu at the beach.

Portrait of Vanessa and Casey’s grandfather, known as Dziadziu, whose pierogi recipe inspired the founding of Jaju Pierogi.

Casey and Vanessa making pierogi in the kitchen, continuing their grandfather’s family tradition.

Vanessa and Casey as kids, smiling together—long before starting Jaju Pierogi, but already part of the family tradition.

Casey, Amy, and Vanessa smiling while holding sheet pans filled with handmade pierogi, fresh from the kitchen.

Casey and Vanessa standing behind a Jaju Pierogi table at one of their first pop-up events.

Vanessa and Casey enthusiastically devouring pierogi, showing their love for the food that inspired Jaju Pierogi.

The Ladies Behind Jaju Pierogi

Vanessa

Co-Founder,
CMO, Head of Sales

Casey

Co-Founder,
COO, CFO

Amy

Product Manager

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The Polish American Women's Scholarship

Jaju Pierogi is thrilled to partner with the Polish American Heritage and Community Foundation of Boston to create the Scholarship for Polish-American Women, open to women of Polish descent of any age, residing in New England, and currently enrolled or planning on pursuing secondary education in the coming year (community college, trade school, undergraduate, graduate). As a 100% women-owned business, our top priority is supporting other women in their ambitions.

Click Here to Apply

Interested in helping grow the scholarship?

Consider donating to the Polish American Heritage and Culture Foundation, the 503(c) arm of the Polish American Citizens Club. Our goal is to increase the amount and number of scholarships we can offer year over year. Thank you for your support!

Click Here to Donate

Dzien dobry!

Our goal is to make sure our pierogi taste like family’s. Have a comment, question, or an idea? Or a suggestion for a store to work with? Say hello here.