Kolache World Domination starts with D.C.

Republic Kolache Co.'s Five Spice Cherry kolache. Photo lifted from their website. 

My sister-in-law directed me to the recent Houstonian article titled "Consider the Kolache: Is Our Beloved Czech Pastry Poised for World Domination?" My answer would be "I don't know," but someone who might give a tentative "heck, yes" is Spring, Texas native Chris Svetlik. His new bakery Republic Kolache Co. is poised (launching in D.C. in the next 6 to 8 weeks) to at least dominate our nation's capitol.

The subject of kolaches has put me into contact with everyone from Chris in D.C. to Autumn at Brooklyn Kolache Company, John T. Edge writing for the New York Times, to reporters in Prague, which is fun. This may be some evidence that perhaps kolaches are poised for world domination. Chris, who I'd never met, was in Austin last week and contacted my Texas Czechs exhibit cohort Lori and I to "chat Czech-Texan heritage (as well as pick [our] brain a bit more about research on the kolache and the general Czech culture/cuisine front)." My favorite subjects. We met at ABGB and drank, what else, their pilsner style beer. 

Me and Chris Svetlik, soon to be the Kolache King of DC.

Chris, who is only in his 20s, has great insights about the pastry and the culture as anyone placing faith in their sell-ability outside of Texas should have. We talked about traditional flavors vs. what might sell (i.e. honoring the past vs. business is business), price points, and the fact that most cultures have ingredients wrapped in dough... how hard could it be to sell a kolach? Will his customer base be Texas expats on the Hill or adventurous foodies or both? One very interesting point in our discussion was how Texas Czech traditional could become D.C. exotic (prune and poppyseed for example, as opposed to the ubiquitous cherry found in convention breakfast buffet Danishes.)

Even as young as late 20s, Chris has the family background to imprint the taste for traditional on his palette. His grandmother Svetlik made kolaches, his father makes kolaches (and bread, strudel and vanocka!), and he traveled back and forth from the Houston area to Lavaca County growing up to visit relatives. It's hard not to absorb the pastry-sausage-noodle-pickle-strudel-beer menu into your being with experience like that. If kolaches are poised to dominate the world, we can only hope it's Texas Czechs leading the charge. 

Sausage, egg and jalapeno klobasnik. Photo lifted from RKC's website.

Chris was here in Texas visiting his father near Moulton and doing a self described "sourcing and recon trip", i.e. sausage fieldwork. (We should all be so lucky to have that job.) Lori and I made some recommendations and he had some ideas already of processors that might ship their product to DC to be baked into Republic's klobasniky (yes, Chris knows the difference.) There's Maeker's in Shiner, Prasek's in Hillje, Slovacek's in Snook/West, City Market in Schulenburg, Kasper Meat Market in Weimar, among others. Chris reported that he'd packed strategically, leaving "sausage room" in his suitcase so taste testing could take place back home. His business partner is not Czech, so must be educated, of course. Hard work.

Of course, Lori (being the eternal documenter of stories and culture) got Chris to stand for a little interview we'd done with hundreds of people over the two years of research for our Texas Czechs exhibit. We're always fascinated by how people got connected to and stay connected to their Czech heritage. Ironically, Chris' dad had attended the opening of our exhibit Texas Czechs: Rooted in Tradition at the Lavaca Historical Museum. Find out a little more about Chris and his background in his video below and visit Republic Kolache's Facebook page. And seek out Republic Kolache Co. on your D.C. family vacation this summer.