The response was immediate. When Czerw’s Kielbasa announced the death of its third-generation owner in June 2025, the Facebook post drew more than 1,000 comments, and nearly 300 people came to the Port Richmond shop to pay their respects. Customers laid flowers outside the storefront and shared stories about John Czerw, the man who had fed their families for nearly 50 years. John was the third generation to run Czerw’s Kielbasa, the Polish smokehouse his grandfather opened in 1938.