MILWAUKEE — Adam and Wioletta Bartoszek are hard at work unloading a van and packing up their fridge with polish sausage. They have tons of it. It's hard work, but in the end it's all worth it.
Boxes thump on the ground, grunts are made when lifting, and heavy breathing is heard. They are all the sounds of a dream coming true.
"When you have dream then I think everything is possible to just get whatever you want to be," Wioletta said.
Wioletta Bartoszek is living her American dream. She and her husband Adam co-own Wioletta’s Polish Market on Milwaukee’s south side at 3955 S. Howell Ave. It opens Friday.
But this wasn’t Wioletta’s original dream when she came to the United States. It started out much simpler.
“I just came here like 20 years ago with no English. I was speak no English then I just proud of myself about that.”
And now she is a store owner. Wioletta and Adam sell all things Polish from sausages to pierogis to clothes and even cosmetic products. They also sell candies, juices, deli meats, paczki, and way more.
“When I grew up, we don’t have a lot of stuff, just like we have in the store now just because can not afford," Wioletta said.
It’s their way of sharing Polish culture with Milwaukee.
“We want everyone to kind of get a taste of Poland. That’s the whole point of having an ethnic store," Adam said.
Now that Wioletta has learned English and owns a store, what’s next for her?
“To just grow up and just be a millionaire," she said with a laugh.
Her new dream is one we all share. But when Wioletta really thinks about it, she said that she has it all.
“I have a job. I have a business and I have kids. I have a husband, and I don’t know. I just can’t dream anything else I actually have everything,” she said.
So here’s to dreams coming true. And all the hard work that pays off in the end.
