Tue–Sat 6 AM–2 PM · Sun 7 AM–noon
Polish bakery · Lincolnway, Valparaiso
Rye, pączki and kolaczki from Babcia Helen's recipes, on Lincolnway since 1987. The ovens start at 3:30. The good stuff goes early.
Every Saturday
Rose pączki
Out at 7 AM. Gone by 10, most weeks.
Every morning runs on the same clock. This board reads it live, so you know whether the rye is still warm before you leave the house.
| 6:00 AM | Rye bread | |
| 6:30 AM | Kolaczki | |
| 7:00 AM | Paczki | |
| 9:00 AM | Sourdough |
Times are the plan, not a promise. On Saturdays the rose pączki are usually gone by ten.
Everything is made here, most of it before sunrise. If it's not on the board, ask. There's usually something in the back.
Bread
From 6 AM- Seeded rye$6.50
Babcia's starter, older than the shop.
- Country sourdough$7.00
- Potato bread$5.50
- Kołacz$18.00
The round braided wedding bread. 48 hours' notice.
Pastry
From 6:30 AM- Pączki$2.75 · $28/doz
Rose, custard, prune or plain sugar.
- Kolaczki$1.25 · $13/doz
Apricot, raspberry, poppyseed, sweet cheese.
- Babka$4.50 · $16 loaf
Fridays through Sundays.
- Makowiec$15.00
Poppyseed roll.
Lunch
Tue–Sat from 11- Pierogi plate (6)$11.00
Potato-cheese or sauerkraut-mushroom, butter and onions.
- Kielbasa roll$6.50
- Soup of the day$5 · $8
Coffee
- Drip$2.50
- Latte$4.75
- Hot chocolate$3.75
- Tea$2.25
Prices as of October 2026. Cash, card, or a tab if we know you.
Since 1987
Helen Kolacz came from Kraków with a rye starter wrapped in a dish towel. She sold bread out of her kitchen on Washington Street until the neighbors talked her into a storefront in 1987.
Her granddaughter Kasia runs the ovens now. The starter is the same one. The pączki recipe changed once, in 1994, and Helen still brings it up.
“If the line's out the door at seven, we did it right.”
- Real butter, never shortening
- Day-olds half price after noon
- A starter older than the shop
- No gluten-free. The kitchen is all flour.
4.8 average across 433 Google reviews
Pączki on a Saturday at 7:15 is a Valpo tradition at this point. Get the rose.
The rye tastes exactly like my grandmother's. I didn't think anyone still made it this way.
Ordered a kołacz for our wedding and they braided our initials into it. People still talk about it.
The pierogi plate at lunch is the best $11 in Porter County.
Showed up at 1:50, ten minutes before close, and Kasia still sold me the last babka.
Day-old rye at half price is the best deal downtown.
Got three dozen kolaczki for the office. Gone by 9:30.
Small, busy, and it smells like 1987 in the best way.
Yes, starting February 1. Pączki Day is our busiest morning of the year, and preorders get their own line.
Weddings, showers, office mornings
Dozens of pączki, trays of kolaczki, a wedding kołacz with your initials in the braid. Tell us what and when, and Kasia will call you to work out the rest.
- 1Kasia calls within one business day to confirm.
- 2We need 48 hours for dozens, two weeks for a wedding kołacz.
- 3Pick up at the shop, or we deliver in Valparaiso for $10.
Tue–Sat 6 AM–2 PM · Sun 7 AM–noon
Where
Lincolnway, downtown ValparaisoAcross from Central Park Plaza- Free two-hour parking on Franklin Street.
- Step-free entrance on the side door.
Hours
- MondayClosed
- Tuesday6 AM – 2 PM
- Wednesday6 AM – 2 PM
- Thursday6 AM – 2 PM
- Friday6 AM – 2 PM
- Saturday6 AM – 2 PM
- Sunday7 AM – 12 PM