If you live in Centre County, it’s not hard to find the Rosie’s Pierogies food truck at special events. Just look for the truck with the longest line.
According to owner and operator Ashley Hamilton, there’s no big secret to this success. The food, which is made from scratch, has been a hit since day one.
“My grandma, Bubba, she’s actually Rosie and she taught me how to make everything,” Hamilton explains.
But the story of how Rosie’s Pierogies came to be is a bit more involved. When she was a student at Penn State, Hamilton began working part-time for Greg Nau, the owner of Canyon Pizza in downtown State College. She started babysitting his children and pretty much became a member of the family. One night, she explains, she took him some of the food that her Bubba taught her how to make.
“I made some things and brought them down to his house,” Hamilton says. “Greg tried them and said, ‘You should really do something with these.’ I said, ‘What am I gonna do with them?’ I was in graduate school. We went back and forth with some ideas and we started messing around about how we could make things on a larger scale. He had a trailer. That turned out to be the first Rosie trailer.”
Hamilton, who is now a school counselor at Marion-Walker Elementary School in Walker Township, partnered with Nau. The two started selling pierogies out of the food truck in 2014.
“It’s been a while now. I remember going out when we first started. When you first start making some sales, it’s pretty exciting. We thought we were busy … today, those would be ‘slow’ days,” Hamilton says.
Over the past eight years, things have really taken off for Rosie’s Pierogies. What started off as a part-time side job has taken on a life of its own.
“We really just made our path. I feel like I’m a pretty personable person. With Greg’s help, we’ve been able to make connections with local breweries and the cideries. I really think a lot of [the success] has been making connections in our small town,” Hamilton says.
Of course, Rosie’s Pierogies wouldn’t be a big hit if the food wasn’t good.
Spoiler alert: The food is fantastic.
Hamilton describes the food as Slovak food. The menu includes three types of pierogies—potato cheese, jalapeño, and bacon. There’s also haluski (cabbage and noodles) and ham pot pie.
“We are a Slovak family. Our recipes are very much traditional. I’ve kind of made things ‘new age’ with the jalapeño and bacon. And we do different things, different sauces. But the base of it all is very traditional,” Hamilton says.
The prices are very reasonable. You can get five pierogies for $5 or a dozen for $10. A small order of haluski is $5, while a large is $7. A “hunky platter,” which consists of pierogies and haluski, is $9.
According to Hamilton, she enjoys doing special pierogies. Around Thanksgiving, Rosie’s serves up turkey pierogies. She also makes special mushroom pierogies from time to time.
“The pierogies are really the draw. The regular pierogies are popular, but people really seek us out for some of our specialty pierogies. When we do our morel mushroom sauce, people really love it. We were at Grange Fair [last] year, and someone said, ‘They’re talking about your pierogies up at the tractor pull.’ It’s amazing,” Hamilton says.
Hamilton will also serve halupki, also known as stuffed cabbage, from time to time. If she’s feeling especially ambitious, she’ll make some nut rolls. However, those two items are sold on a very limited basis.
“They are even more time consuming than the pierogies,” Hamilton says. “We usually sell out of them—when we do make them.”
She has kicked around the idea of doing more soups as well.
“In the fall and winter, it seems to be something that people seek out. I have some other recipes that my Bubba used to make,” Hamilton says.
Oh yes, Bubba.
Bubba—or Rosie—is 90 years young. According to Hamilton, she still comes out to some of the special events and kitchen takeovers.
“She’s a little firecracker for sure. She likes to come around Grange Fair and any of the kitchen takeovers we do at Big Spring Spirits. I think she feels like a little celebrity. People will say, ‘That’s the original Rosie.’ I don’t know anyone else who could wear their face on a T-shirt. She wears it and she’s proud of it. She still cuts onions and cabbage. It’s fun for her. She loves cooking and being in the kitchen,” Hamilton says.
You can find Rosie’s Pierogies at Grange Fair and numerous other events in Centre County. Hamilton says that she has missed the People’s Choice Arts Festival over the past few years since it was canceled due to COVID-19.
“It’s my favorite and busiest time. We will open at 10:30 and we will have a line the entire time. It’s really hard to keep up. It’s a fun rush. I don’t know if I’m happy or I want to cry,” Hamilton says with a laugh.
Rosie’s Pierogies is entrenched in Centre Couny. Last spring, Hamilton donated a tray of pierogies to the parent-run Bellefonte Senior Ball. Within minutes, hundreds of Bellefonte Area High School seniors descended upon the food tent and scarfed them up. An emergency call was made to Hamilton and she delivered more. By the end of the evening, those were gone as well.
“My Bubba and my mother will give you the shirt off their back. I like to think I’m like them,” Hamilton says. “I love giving back to the community.”
For more information about Rosie’s Pierogies, check out their Facebook page.
This story appears in the February 2022 issue of Town&Gown.
