The owner of Stimmel’s Market was cleaning up after the mad rush of hundreds of people coming in to get their hands on the deep-fried doughnut-like pastry that is a staple of the Fat Tuesday tradition.

‘Today is the Super Bowl of paczki-frying,’ Stimmel said. ‘It really was insane in here this morning, [customers] were lining up out the door.’ Paczki Day (pronounced POONCH-key) has been going on years before Stimmel’s family bought the store, previously named Terrel’s Market, in May of 2004. The Stimmel family carried on the tradition of selling the Polish treat, which has become increasingly popular in the last 10 to 15 years in the northwest Ohio area. Hamtramck, which is outside of Detroit, even has an annual Paczki Day Parade and cities like Cleveland with large Polish populations also specialize in paczki-producing. Paczki contain a lot more butter than most doughnuts, which results in a ‘richer, denser mix’ than what you would find in doughnuts, according to Stimmel. They will usually be covered in powdered sugar and are stuffed with fruit flavors, appearing similar to jelly doughnuts. Over 6,000 of the buttery baked goods were fried up overnight, and with the Christian holiday of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent starting, Stimmel said not many should be left on the shelves today. Mary Bakos, 66, of Bowling Green, participated in the paczki party, buying two dozen to share with her family. ‘These are real authentic paczki because they make them right here. Some places I’ve been to have them shipped in,’ Bakos said. ‘I used to make them myself, but [Stimmel’s] has all the kinds that we need. My grandkids love the raspberry ones.’ Stimmel’s Market features raspberry, black raspberry, apple, lemon, Bavarian cream and even prune-filled paczki. ‘The most traditional flavor is prune, and the most controversial,’ Stimmel said. ‘The favorite is a toss-up probably between apple, Bavarian cream and raspberry.’ Employees at Stimmel’s had been baking the 6,000 paczki since 10 p.m. Monday and didn’t stop until Tuesday afternoon. They made enough to supply the main Bowling Green store and also to deliver a shipment to their other location in nearby Napoleon. For the first time on Paczki Day, Stimmel’s Market also had an all-day wine tasting to complement the sweet flavors of the paczki. ‘We are pouring some different wines back there, some sweeter wines, some wines with good acidity that might pair up well with the paczki,’ Stimmel said. For those who celebrate the Lenten season by sacrificing some of their guilty pleasures, Stimmel’s Market provided a Paczki Day to indulge in some of their favorite food and drink.