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Eva Zaczynski first butchered a pig at 9 years old and began working in the restaurant industry at 14. But these experiences in Poland were just the start of her food career.

“You grew up with (the Whopper from Burger King), but I grew up with pierogi. That’s what we had on the table,” Eva said. “We had our own sausage because we made it at home. All the meat we butchered a few times a year.”

For nearly 30 years, the 66-year-old has owned Eva’s European Sweets, an Eastern European restaurant in Syracuse. The restaurant serves a taste of Poland with traditional dishes like kielbasa, gołąbki, bigos (hunter’s stew) and pierogi.

Despite the restaurant’s longevity, the journey wasn’t always smooth, Eva said.

Eva, her ex-husband and their two children emigrated from Poland to Greece in 1986. Eva’s ex-husband had been running a company in Poland, but during a time of political instability and general uncertainty in Eastern Europe, they decided to pack up and leave. Not even Eva’s mother knew they were leaving, Eva said.

Two years later, the Catholic Charities Diocese of Syracuse sponsored the family, and in August 1988, they immigrated to the United States from Greece. At the time, Eva’s youngest child, David Zaczynski, was just 3 years old. They had no family in the U.S. and knew nobody, Eva said.

“We came with $1,000 in our pockets. Whatever we could sell, clothes and jewelry, whatever we had in Greece, that’s how we paid,” Eva said.

The family received financial help in Syracuse, like food stamps and three months of apartment payments from the city. But Eva, in need of work, started cleaning at a convent affiliated with a Syracuse Polish church, she said. A doctor from Poland cooked for the nuns, and eventually, she offered Eva the role.

“She said to me, in her last few months (at the convent), ‘Do you want the job?’ And I said to her, ‘I don’t know if I want the job,’ but I had nothing else to do,” Eva said. “We didn’t have a car. We had no money.”

Inside Eva’s European Sweets, the restaurant is decorated with vibrant colors and patterns that reflect centuries of Polish traditions. Its welcoming atmosphere reflects the restaurant’s familial feel. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor

Eva also said she took the job to support her children; she wanted to provide them with a formal education. Through her work as the church’s chef, her children were able to attend the private school associated with the convent, Eva said.

The nuns, impressed by Eva’s cooking, always asked why she didn’t own a restaurant, Eva said. She didn’t want to open one, but her ex-husband lost his kidney to cancer and couldn’t work anymore. In 1997, she took a leap of faith and opened Eva’s European Sweets.

The restaurant started as a one-room coffee shop with three kinds of pierogi. After three months, the restaurant expanded, adding two more dining rooms.

Now, Eva’s European Sweets offers a variety of savory and sweet homemade pierogi, with fillings like potato and seasonal blueberry. But Eva’s favorite is the sweet, farmer’s cheese-filled pierogi.

A 2013 appearance on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” resulted in even more growth, Eva said.

David became a full-time restaurant employee and now assists with many aspects of the restaurant, like baking, shopping and repairing. Eva takes pride in the quality of their ingredients, primarily using goods imported from Poland — even beer — because it’s part of their livelihood, David said. Still, they focus on what Eva’s European Sweets means to them: home and family.

“I don’t see this place as just a job. It’s an extension of me and an extension of my family,” David said. “It’s a representation of all the things that (Eva’s) done and worked hard for.”

The inside of Eva’s European Sweets is decorated like a pisanki (Polish Easter egg) — vibrant colors and patterns reflect centuries of tradition.

The restaurant is filled with family photographs, the Polish coat of arms, hand-carved wooden plates from Poland and a variety of colored vases that Eva’s collected over the years. Everything about the restaurant reminds Eva of Poland, she said.

“Everything is Polish here, and so are we,” Eva said. “A lot of older Polish people brought their kids, the kids bring the grandkids right now and they’re bringing me pieces of their memories.”

Serving Polish dishes like pierogies and gołąbki, Eva’s European Sweets quickly became a popular food spot when it opened almost 30 years ago. Following a 2013 appearance on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” the restaurant grew even bigger. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor

Eva said her own grandkids enjoy coming to the restaurant, even taking off their shoes because they feel at home. They were born into the restaurant, David said.

David and Eva also consider every employee a family member — many employees have worked at Eva’s European Sweets for over 15 years — and each year Eva hosts a Christmas party at the restaurant. She said past employees, people without anywhere to go and some of her friends also attend.

One of those friends is Billy Denham. He often stops by the restaurant to chat with Eva, whom he’s known for roughly 20 years.

“I’ve been going to her family outings and family traditions there at the restaurant. She always invites me to come by, and I know all the kids,” Denham said. “I feel very comfortable there.”

Besides Eva’s family and friends, Eva’s European Sweets has impacted the lives of customers, too. Eva said one customer came to the restaurant on a first date, told her husband she was pregnant there and Eva even made their wedding cake.

One day, the couple came in with their daughter — Eva.

“This is our home. We spend a lot of time here,” Eva said. “All the people who are here are very close to us, and so are we with them.”

Published on March 17, 2026 at 11:24 pm
Contact Joel: jdpelach@syr.edu