Paul Porinchak RIP: We grew up on Porinchak’s meat and loved the store — and the family

Paul and his wife Kathy in the store in 2017 -- Photo Altoona Mirror

Some aspects of childhood stick with you, and our weekly trips to Porinchak’s Store in Portage are one of them. As a youngster, I was not certain why my father bought his rib roast and chicken and ground beef at Porinchak's Store, along with bananas and other essentials , but I learned that he and Paul became friends because the store was on his route as a mail carrier on the hills of Portage.

They treated my dad like family, giving him a warm cup of tea or coffee on his venture.

So, every Saturday, we would have some meat from Porinchak’s, and then on Sunday, my mother would roast the rib of beef, which was always delicious. The roast lasted part of the week, and we then boiled down the remnants for soup. On the other days, we would have chicken.

Now, we did buy meat in our hometown of Lilly, Pa because we bought our steaks and haddock, a Friday essential in those years, from Al Green at his market on Main Street.

Not only was the meat great, the people were also. In those years, Paul Sr. was the butcher, wife Mary was the person who handled the payments and other aspects of it, and Paul Jr. did everything else. They were wonderful, so nice, and with Paul Jr.’s passing this week at the age of 86, I must say that he carried on the tradition quite well.

The history

It was indeed a Mom and Pop store, but it started with Mary’s family in 1900. She was an Oravecz, and a story from the Altoona Mirror about eight years ago talked about the history of the family operation,

Stephan, August and Adolph Oravecz opened a meat market and grocery store here in two separate buildings in 1900 after immigrating from the eastern European area formerly known as Czechoslo-vakia, today’s Czech Republic and Slovakia. They made home deliveries of their goods through the Portage area, first by horse and wagon and then by truck. Stephan acquired sole ownership in 1935.

Meanwhile, Paul Porinchak Sr. operated a grocery store in Johnstown for years. One Saturday night during the Depression, he made a large deposit, and the bank was closed by Monday, the younger Paul said.

“Someone told him to go to Portage because there’s a nice Slovak store with a nice Slovak daughter there,” Paul said, with a chuckle. “That’s how that side of my family got here.”

Cherie Hicks, “Portage’s oldest mom-and-pop store carrying

on tradition,” Altoona Mirror, Dec. 17, 2017

Carrying on the tradition

When Paul Sr. had to step aside because of health reasons, my dad expressed concern that he had not prepared his son for taking over the business. That was not a concern, however, as he carried it on for more than 40 years and only retired when he was about 80-years-old.

In fact, he developed his own traditions, too,

[The mom and pop store] remains relevant, especially at the holidays, with customers coming from Johnstown and Altoona just for their hams and “kolbassi,” which is a variant spelling of that Polish sausage kielbasa. The holiday kolbassi has more garlic that usual, and another version has hot pepper and cheese.

“We sell 1,000 pounds of it at the holidays,” Kathy said, noting that they ship across the country. “That’s a lot for a small store.”

Another holiday favorite is poppy seeds that Paul freshly grinds.

Cherie Hicks, Altoona Mirror, Dec. 17, 2017

Paul made certain that it was relevant, and he also continued with the same wonderful people skills his parents had — particularly those of his mother. He always had a smile on his face, as she had for years.

Enjoyed our family's ties

After my dad passed on in 1989, I continued shopping at Porinchak’s for a number of years, though the need for the rib roast was not as evident. My brother was a red meat lover, but I had switched to chicken, turkey, and fish.

I had been out of the area for many years until recently, out of Pa for more than eight and the Mainline for more than two decades. However, the store apparently continues on Prospect Street in Portage, where the Oravecz’s started about 126 years ago.

My sympathies to his wife Kathy and his family. Paul was a very special guy, and I enjoyed our family’s ties with the Porinchak’s.