The rich history of Kalinowski's Polish Sausage began overseas near the end of WWII in 1944. Other than his no nonsense, stoic demeanor, US Army Sergeant Eugene Kalinowski was also known as a master poker player. Eugene would routinely send his winnings home to his wife Victoria and their first son, Eugene II in Harvey, IL. Unbeknownst to Eugene, Victoria used those gambling winnings to open a small corner store and deli just two doors down from their home. Eugene came back from war in 1945 to a surprisingly bustling neighborhood grocery store and the rest, as they say, is history.

Over the next 50 years, Viki's store became base camp for a small Polish sausage empire with the help of their nine children. Combining family recipes from both Gene & Viki's mothers, Kalinowski's Polish Sausage was established and quickly became a neighborhood favorite. Property purchased on both sides of the store as well as the lot across the street gave room for a larger family home, a smokehouse, commercial walk in coolers and a federally approved sausage kitchen.

At their height, Kalinowski's Polish Sausage produced over 10,000 pounds of sausage per week and serviced over 100 retailers in Illinois and Indiana. The Kalinowski family is an inspiring example of the quintessential American Dream. Gene and Viki's family values, community involvement, and love for life propelled them from a young immigrant couple to a proud, well-respected and successful family.

Best Meat in Town only may sound like a tagline, but we'd be willing to bet on it.