Fat Tuesday has come and gone, and Michiganders everywhere once again climbed mountains of delicious Polish pastries. Near Mason, one little bakery is dedicated to producing the area’s freshest, tastiest paçzki.
Main Street Bakery in Leslie is usually closed on Tuesdays, but Fat Tuesday opens its doors to offer one item: paçzki. With eight flavors, the family-owned bakery has come to rival other area favorites in the race for best paçzki.
In a Facebook group called “What’s Happening Around Mason, Mi” community members were asked to choose their favorite paçzki spot out of three options: Main Street Bakery, Quality Dairy, and Meijer. Group members also added Groovy Donuts and Tom’s Food Center. More than 200 people responded to the poll, and Main Street Bakery won by a landslide.
Although the longtime community staple has recently changed ownership, it’s clear that people still can’t get enough of their delicious baked goods. Dominic Ambroggio became the bakery’s newest owner in 2020.
“It’s been absolutely wonderful. We enjoy being part of the community and the community supports us,” said Ambroggio.
Anna Spidel
A customer is seen leaving Main Street Bakery on Fat Tuesday, the only Tuesday of the year that the small bakery is open.In order to ensure the freshest possible paçzki, Main Street staff comes in early on the morning of Fat Tuesday to bake the pastries. Some Mason residents, such as Cathy Bennett Warner, are even willing to travel out of their way just to get their hands on the delicacy.
“You know, it’s a hometown bakery, and so we thought, well, we’ll just go down there and support a small business. And we were shocked at how delicious they were. I mean, the freshness,” said Warner.
Even though some residents are still partial to QD paçzki, Main Street’s paçzki have undeniably proven themselves to be a local favorite. Some residents even say they measure up to the caliber of pastries produced in the heavily Polish metro Detroit area.
Anna Spidel
Lemon, Bavarian cream, and blueberry paçzki in the Main Street Bakery pastry case in the early afternoon on Fat Tuesday. The bakery sells only paçzki on the Catholic holiday, and stays open until they sell out (which usually doesn’t take long).“I was with State Police and I dispatched in Brighton, and they used to bring the first paçzki I had because I’m from Delaware and there’s no such thing as paçzki in Delaware,” said Warner. “They would relay them from the Hamtramck and Tecumseh area, and they’re supposed to be the best. I mean, that’s what I heard all year: they’re the best of the best. Well, they really aren’t. Not after I’ve had Main Street.”
It’s clear that Michiganders are passionate about their paçzki, but for newcomers, Fat Tuesday becomes a rite of passage. A person’s first paçzki is arguably a sacred experience, and people like local mom Heidi Bryan are getting to feel the magic for the first time.
“We actually just moved here a few years ago, so this is a whole new thing for us. This year we just decided that we had to try them,” said Bryan.