Czerw’s Kielbasy owner John Czerw dies at 55. A community of customers is mourning the loss.
More than anything, say those who knew him, John Czerw, third generation owner of iconic Czerw’s Kielbasy and 55 when he died Thursday from complications of cancer, was proud of his customers.
John Czerw was a proud kielbasa man.
He was proud to cook his homemade Polish sausage on the same brick oven his grandfather, Jan Czerw, had built by hand in 1938, when he converted a horse stable on tiny Tilton Street in Port Richmond into a smokehouse. And proud that not much about the shoebox smokehouse had changed in over eight decades, and certainly not the recipes.
More than anything, say those who knew him, John Czerw, third-generation owner of the iconic Czerw’s Kielbasy and 55 when he died Thursday from complications of cancer, was proud of his customers. Old and new ones alike, who happily lined up for hours outside Czerw’s each Easter and Christmas, and crowd the shop all year around. Who traveled from just down the street or from hours away for the kielbasa and cheesesteak pierogi and other Polish specialties. But also for the smiling neighborhood kielbasa man, who took joy in treating everyone who crossed the old smokehouse door like a familiar friend, and who was loved for it.
“He was the heart and soul of this place,” said Nicole Crouse, Czerw’s girlfriend of 15 years, who works at the shop and spoke through sobs Friday. “It was his family’s legacy. He was just so generous and genuine. He treated everybody the same. He always said, ‘I have the best customers in the world.”
Czerw (pronounced Cherv) had long run the shop with his older brothers, Dennis and Jeff, or the “Kielbasa Boys,” as they were known with a smile in Port Richmond. The boys took over the shop when their father Thaddeus, known as Ted, retired.
The store will close sometime next week for funeral services that are still being finalized, Crouse said, but quickly open back up.
“He would not have it any other way,” said Crouse.
Czerw had only recently been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, she said.
“They were going through all these rounds of tests,” Crouse said. “His prognosis was poor, but they were looking for a treatment.”
Even amid the grim news, he had been working in the shop, cheerfully chatting, like always, and texting customers about orders, not letting on about his illness.
He’d be embarrassed by the fuss, Crouse said, smiling through the tears.
All day Friday, saddened and shocked regulars came to lay flowers or share a hug and a memory. They used the same word to describe the loss.
“Like family,” said Frank Zagacki, 72, who lives down the street. After shedding tears with Crouse, he ordered his regular “pound of smoke and pound of fresh.” One final meal made by his friend, he said.
“I asked, ‘Did John make this?’” he said.
Thousands more posted messages on Facebook.
“It’s been overwhelming to realize how many people loved him as much as we did,” said Crouse.
Customers recalled Czerw’s constant kindness. How he made sure shoppers who hadn’t realized the old-school shop was cash-only still left with heaping orders. And how he barely let anyone pay him back. How he stuffed long-dried kabanosy — or “Polish Slim Jim” — into overstuffed bags as treats. And always made time to take customers and their children for tours of his grandfather’s smokehouse, no matter how busy.
How it wasn’t just that he had the best kielbasa, but that he was the best guy, too.
“It just feels like such a huge blow,” said Kaitlin Wines, co-owner of Polish eatery Mom-Mom’s Kitchen, through tears.
Wines and partner Ryan Elmore have sold Czerw’s kielbasa on their menu ever since starting out as a food cart in 2013. They had been searching for homemade sausage to sample, when Wines’ grandmother — a Port Richmond native and Czerw’s loyalist — told them there was only one place. The pair was blown away by Czerw’s kielbasa but also his kindness.
“We told him about our little cart that we were starting, and at the end, he was just like, ‘It’s on me, guys,’” said Wines. “He was so encouraging, and he didn’t even charge us for the whole thing. We were just flabbergasted, basically.
Wines, too, said it felt like she lost a member of her family.
“He just really cared about people,” she said. “For us, it was just such a point of pride to put their name on our menu.”