Combining Collectible Discoveries With Culinary Delicacies At New Route 5 Store In Enfield

ENFIELD, CT — Have you ever thought of buying a package of locally-made pierogi with a side of a Civil War-era sword? Or a frozen barbecue meal from a local smokehouse with a side of a Victorian oil painting? Perhaps you'd like a first edition copy of Arthur Miller's classic "Death of a Salesman" to go with that ring of savory kielbasa. Well, now you can, as a unique new marketplace, Two Chefs Fine Art and Antiques and Gourmet Food Market, has opened on Route 5.

Ronald Cornell and Alexandar Sasha Scherla (Two Chefs) have been cooking in the Enfield area for many years, from running the Old Country Banquet Hall and Deli in the former Polish National Home on Alden Avenue to the very popular Smoke BBQ and Belvedere in Sofia's Plaza in East Windsor. They are bringing all the best products from their restaurants to the new Enfield store: their Pierogi Queen Pierogi, smoked meats, pastrami, kielbasa, brisket, babka, paczki, crepes and rye bread, together with a selection of local bakery products, European sweets and pickles.

But the main attraction of this new 5,000 square-foot store, at the north end of a small plaza at 481 Enfield Street (which townies over 50 will recall as the home of Enfield Roller World in the late 1970s and 1980s), is the gallery, featuring thousands of works of art, vintage and antique collectibles. Here you can find a little of everything - from oddities to books, uranium glass to Polish pottery, brass statues and clocks to furniture, stained glass and figurines. Everything is priced for resellers, leaving plenty of room for treasure hunters to sell items online and make money.

"Shopping for locally-made specialty foods and ready-to-go meals and pastries, with a free visit to a museum and art gallery, is a unique new experience not only for Enfield, but also for the whole of New England," Scherla told Patch.

The original plan was to open a restaurant with an art gallery, but due to some permit issues and a worker shortage, the two chefs decided to concentrate their cooking to Belvedere and the Smoke BBQ food truck, while selling only packaged culinary products at the new Enfield site, as well as adding the antique store to the art gallery section of the space.

The art gallery features temporary exhibitions by local artists, and the food market will be adding sandwiches, coffee and other hot food options to go. But first, the duo needs to free up space by selling some of the furniture available in the store, including 30 glass display cabinets, tables and bookcases.

Two Chefs is open Wednesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. More information may be obtained at 2canda.com.