After nearly a decade serving Polish comfort food along North Central Expressway, Taste of Poland has become Chicago's Deli, a redesigned European specialty market and grocery store at 2301 N. Central Expressway, Ste. 155 in Plano. The deli and grocery counter opened on August 21, with a bistro, café, and Chicago-style street food area still to come.
The transition keeps the business in the same family, according to a June Facebook announcement from the owners describing the shift from the sit-down Polish restaurant to its new identity. As reported by Community Impact, Chicago's Deli now occupies the former Taste of Poland restaurant space and offers specialty groceries, premium European meats, cheeses, sausages, and pierogi. Community Impact reported the store's offerings according to a company social media post detailing the new lineup.
For longtime regulars, the shift caps years of uncertainty about the location's future. Taste of Poland had operated in Plano for nearly 10 years, building a following for dishes that, per archived Postmates delivery listings, once included White Borscht, tripe soup, kishka, and pierogi platters served out of a small sit-down dining room with a secondary freezer aisle. The space also served as a community gathering spot; Hoodline reported that the venue hosted the Carpatho-Rusyn Society's Christmas party in 2018, featuring pierogies, kielbasa, and cabbage rolls.
A Sign of Transition, Literally
Visitors driving past the shopping center this week may notice something odd: the old Taste of Poland exterior signage is still up. Polonia of Dallas, a local Polish-American community page, noted in an August update that Chicago's Deli is temporarily keeping the original sign while its new storefront signage is produced, a detail meant to prevent confusion for customers looking for the address. The grand opening itself was pushed back about a week from an initial mid-August target so the team could finish interior work, per the same Facebook update.
Once the bistro, café, and street food area open in mid-September, the café menu is expected to include sandwiches and coffee, while the street food component will bring Chicago-style hot dogs to the Plano storefront. Those additions will round out what is currently just the deli and grocery counter into a fuller-service operation spanning multiple concepts under one roof.
Stocking Shelves From Illinois and Poland
Behind the counter, the market's expanded inventory depends on a supply chain stretching back to the Midwest and overseas. An August Facebook post from the business detailed that products are imported directly from Illinois and Poland, with the biggest shipments arriving twice a year around Christmas and Easter, a seasonal rhythm tied to Chicago's role as a major U.S. hub for Polish import distribution.
The rebrand also lands amid a broader demographic backdrop in Plano. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts data shows 29.3% of the city's population was foreign-born between 2020 and 2024, a figure that helps explain sustained demand for international specialty markets in the area. Separately, Zip Atlas demographic data indicates Plano ranks seventh among Texas cities for Polish population, with more than 4,100 residents of Polish descent among the state's roughly 288,000 Polish-Texans.
Joining an Established Niche Market
Chicago's Deli isn't the only option for Eastern European groceries in Plano. Visit Plano's tourism materials have long described the shopping center along U.S. Highway 75 as a hub for regional Eastern European dining, and a 2019 Hoodline review of the city's grocery landscape included Plano's specialty grocery scene, noting competitors such as Euro Deli Too on Coit Road. The new market's blend of Polish groceries and Chicago-style street food gives it a distinct niche within that landscape as it works toward completing its full buildout later this year.
