Chicago's Polish Community Celebrates Traditional Fat Thursday with Authentic Paczki

While many Chicago residents prepare for Fat Tuesday paczki celebrations, the city’s Polish community already observed their traditional tłusty czwartek, or Fat Thursday, on February 12.

According to Polish tradition, paczki — the fried, jam-filled pastries — are consumed on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, rather than on Fat Tuesday as commonly celebrated throughout the Midwest.

“Thursday is the biggest day for the Polish people for paczki. That’s very traditional,” said Anna Niziolek, co-owner of the Polish Paczki Cafe on Chicago’s Far Northwest Side.

The restaurant demonstrates the intensity of Fat Thursday demand by temporarily halting its regular hot-meal service to focus exclusively on paczki production. Polish Paczki Cafe begins making the pastries Wednesday morning and continues through Thursday evening, according to co-owner Bozena Zakrzewski.

The demanding schedule takes its toll on restaurant staff. Zakrzewski said she works 36 hours straight without sleep during this period. To meet customer demand, the restaurant recruits family members and friends to help with production and service, with Zakrzewski’s daughter taking orders while her niece assists with filling orders.

The restaurant’s authentic preparation methods distinguish it from other paczki vendors, according to Zakrzewski. “We are making them from scratch and we have natural ingredients: butter from Poland, the flour which we have is from Canada, and we have marmalade also from Poland,” she said.

Polish Paczki Cafe uses traditional techniques, including wrapping a mixture of rose, plum and raspberry jam inside the dough ball before frying, rather than injecting filling afterward.

The restaurant’s reputation draws dedicated customers who make significant efforts to obtain their paczki. Park Ridge resident Peter Wachowski typically arrives at 5 a.m. on Fat Thursday to avoid the one- to two-hour wait times that develop later in the day.

“I think that the paczki here honestly are the best I’ve ever had anywhere in the entire city of Chicago,” Wachowski said, adding he would wait hours if necessary.

Customer loyalty spans years and distances. Elżbieta Sikorska, a 15-year patron, drove 50 minutes from Island Lake for her Fat Thursday purchase. “Today I have the first time in the morning. That probably is very fast, but usually I come in the afternoon, and I stay in the line two, three hours,” she said.

Polish Paczki Cafe charges $3.25 per paczek and accepts both cash and card payments. The restaurant serves paczki year-round, including Fat Tuesday for those who miss the traditional Thursday celebration.

Several other Chicago-area businesses also offer paczki during the season. La Blondina, operated by Agnieszka “Agnes” Hurtado from her Villa Park home, produces hundreds of paczki annually after closing her physical bakery in 2013. Hurtado offers rose and plum varieties for $3.50 each through her Facebook page, accepting cash and Zelle payments.

The Polish grocery chain Deli 4 You Market opens early at 6 a.m. on Fat Tuesday across its five northwest suburban locations. The stores stock traditional flavors like raspberry, rose and plum alongside unique options including pistachio, Kinder Bueno and poppyseed, plus premium varieties with whipped cream and fresh berries. Prices range from $1.98 to $3.58 per paczek.

These businesses serve Chicago’s substantial Polish-American community, which maintains cultural traditions including the proper timing of paczki consumption. The Thursday celebration reflects the community’s connection to Polish customs, even as the broader Chicago area embraces the pastries on Fat Tuesday.