NANTICOKE, Pa. — Sanitary Bakery on Ridge Street in Nanticoke was packed with folks on Tuesday looking to get their traditional Mardi Gras baked goods.
The business started 100 years ago and has been in the Kowalski family for all those years.
Customers say it's a landmark in Nanticoke, and they credit the products and customer service with its success.
"These guys lasted. Dedication, always have what you want, you got to wait in line, but that's life," Jim Samselski laughed.
"Here we are at Sanitary Bakery tradition for Fat Tuesday! Always come from prune paczki," Lillian Dewald said.
Co-owner Aaron Kowalski says a packed house is pretty typical for Fat Tuesday.
"It's crazy, crazy, I mean mostly we do doughnuts, paczki, and fastnachts, and it's a potato-based doughnut," Kowalski said.
Kowalski owns the bakery with his father and says his family has plenty of practice serving customers 100 years of practice.
"It's been in the family a long time and a lot of hard work, a lot of labor, but you know we have great people around here, great customers, great followers, and so hopefully, we'll be around another 100 years."
The Kowalski family has had a bakery on this corner in Nanticoke for 100 years, and customers tell Newswatch 16 they credit that success to their product and their customer service.
"They're the best doughnuts around, and the jelly johns are excellent," Dewald said.
The owner says now that Fat Tuesday and Lent are here, the next focus is on pizza.