The story of the Warsaw restaurant, which was a popular dining spot for serving Polish food during much of the 20th century, begins at 130 High Street in 1924. The restaurant was in the Fuller Building, which dates back to the mid-19th century and is located in one of Holyoke's first commercial districts.
Thomas Witek and his brother-in-law, Joseph Stopa, opened the Warszawski Rooming House at 128 High Street and the Warszawski Restaurant at 130 High Street in 1924. Both businesses were located in the Fuller Block at the corner of High and Oliver Street. Thomas Witek also operated a restaurant at 117 Lyman Street, according to the 1924 Price & Lee Holyoke City Directory.
Joseph Stopa left the partnership soon thereafter, opening his restaurant at 119 High Street in 1925.
Thomas and his wife, Aniela "Nellie" (Grzesik) Witek, operated the restaurant from 1925 to 1945. After her husband's death in 1949, Aniela Witek continued to operate the rooming house until 1953.
Joseph Witek was issued a building permit in March 1945, as he planned to consolidate two store spaces at 137 High Street into one restaurant.
The new Warsaw Restaurant opened on March 18, 1946, in the Stratton Block at 137 High Street. This was an older building across the street from the Warszawski, constructed in the 1860s. It was three stories, with two apartments on the upper floors.
The new owners were Thomas and Aniela Witek's son and daughter-in-law. Joseph and Gladys (Szarek) Witek. Gladys Witek had worked at the Warszawski Restaurant since marrying Joseph in 1937.
The restaurant was noted for serving an assortment of specialty Polish dishes and benefited from the heavily populated Polish Ward 4 section of Holyoke. Mater Dolorosa, the Polish Catholic church, was located a block and a half away on Lyman Street, and at the time, many residents lived in neighborhoods close to their church.
Joseph Witek died in January 1965. The restaurant continued to operate for several months and was sold to Joseph Bogdanowicz in June 1965.
Mr. Bogdanowicz operated Michael's Market across the street from the restaurant at 140 High Street. He took over the restaurant operation on June 14, 1965, and planned to sell the market he had operated for twenty years.
Due to health issues, Mr. Bogdanowicz and co-owner Sophie Mozeleski closed the restaurant in 1968. They held a grand re-opening on November 1, 1971. The business remained open until 1994, when the owners retired. The location and owners may have changed; however, the Warsaw Restaurant was enjoyed by many, serving Polish food in Holyoke for nearly 70 years.
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Price & Lee City Directories, Holyoke, Massachusetts, Holyoke Public Library.
1911 Richard's Atlas of the City of Holyoke, Massachusetts
MACRIS: Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System
137 High Street location of the Warsaw Restaurant 1945-1994.
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