Baba and Pop’s is across the street from the Aurora Fox Theater at 9945 E. Colfax Ave.

Jeremy and Katherine Yurek’s pierogi shop, Baba and Pop’s, offers hot pierogis with all the toppings as well as frozen. They make pierogis from scratch, as shown here.

Katherine Yurek and her husband Jeremy decided to open their new business, Baba and Pop’s Pierogi Kitchen & Bar on Friday, the 13th of March. “Friday the 13th has always been a lucky day for me,” she says with a laugh. This was no ordinary Friday the 13th given the pandemic, but Yurek sounds upbeat. After running a food truck for several years, she says, the couple realized a lot of their customers wanted to take pierogis home. In 2016, they began shifting their sales to farmers’ markets to meet this demand.

And what a demand there is for this Polish-inspired dumpling filled with potatoes, cheese, sauerkraut, pulled pork and other savory ingredients. The Yureks estimate that they sell over 15,000 pierogis each week. “We make every single one of our pierogis by hand and from scratch; it’s very labor-intensive and then we boil them and then we package them. The whole process takes a very long time,” says Yurek. “We don’t skimp on any ingredients whatsoever.”

Though the original pierogi recipe came from Jeremy’s great-grandmother (Baba), who emigrated from Poland, ingredients like green chile are clearly the couple’s inspired addition to the original. Other menu items include cabbage rolls, soups, salads, and sandwiches.

The original “Baba” and “Pop,” Jeremy’s Polish immigrant great-grandparents, Josephine and Charles.

Although they live in Denver, Yurek says they selected Aurora as the site of their new business not only because they found a great space and a great landlord, but also because of the City of Aurora’s Restaurant Incentive Program, which supports restaurant projects in “blighted properties” in northwest Aurora. “They actually built out our kitchen space for us; they put over $300,000 into the space and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s the greatest program ever. Without them, we literally would not have had this opportunity.”

Located next to Third Culture Bakery—another Restaurant Incentive Program business—Baba and Pop’s offers cocktails, beer and wine, seated dining, a grab ‘n go section, a freezer for pierogis to cook at home, and a complete take-out menu.

Baba and Pop’s is located at 9945 E. Colfax Ave. in Aurora, across from the Fox Theater. To order online, call 303-919-3584 or visit babaandpops.com. Curbside carryout is available during Covid-19 restrictions. Hours are Monday – Saturday 11am-5pm.

Photos courtesy of Baba and Pop’s.