HARRISBURG, Pa. — After three weeks of fierce competition in a tournament-style contest to determine "The Coolest Thing Made in Pa.," the Pittsburgh-based sandwich shop Primanti Bros. walked away with the big prize, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry announced.
The 90-year-old sandwich chain made famous for slathering coleslaw and fries on its sandwiches earned the title last night following a championship round face-off with Schuylkill County’s Mrs. T’s Pierogies.
All told, more than 32,000 votes were tallied to determine the final winner, which Primanti Bros. secured in the final round with 53% of the total vote.
The restaurant is celebrating the occasion by offering free beer to customers at every location across Pennsylvania on Wednesday, the Chamber said.
“Hats off to the Primanti Bros. – not only for the brilliant and hilarious social media posts they entertained us with throughout the contest – but for being crowned by Pennsylvania voters as the ‘Coolest Thing Made in Pa.’,” said Pa. Chamber President and CEO Luke Bernstein. “This contest showcased what makes our state great by highlighting products made and manufactured in our Commonwealth – and the public’s response has blown us away.
"These last three weeks have left no doubt that Pennsylvanians are passionate about their homegrown products. While this was the first ‘Coolest Thing’ contest we’ve run, we’re just getting started!”
Primanti Bros. CEO Adam Golomb was thankful his company earned the most votes -- but didn't seem surprised.
“We’ve known that Primanti Bros. was the Coolest Thing in Pa. since 1933 – but we’re glad everyone else knows, too,” he said. “While it’s an honor to be recognized as a Champion – it’s even more remarkable to consider all of the iconic brands, businesses and stories that were born of our Commonwealth. Pennsylvania is full of cool things – and we’re excited to be counted among them.”
“We lost much more productivity following this tournament than we did with the NCAA tournament,” said Tom Twardzik, owner of Ateeco, Inc., the parent company of Mrs. T’s. “We congratulate Primanti Bros. on their win in the Pennsylvania Chamber ‘Coolest Thing Made in Pa.’ Tournament. It was a close win with our #PierogySquad showing up and voting for us round after round – we are so thankful for all the pierogi love.”
The “Coolest Thing Made in Pa.” contest began on March 14, with 32 companies competing.
In addition to bragging rights, Primanti Bros. will receive complimentary tickets to next year’s Annual Pa. Economic Forecast and Business Leadership Summit where they will be honored.
The full list of competing companies in the 2023 “Coolest Thing in PA” contest included:
- Meta The Metaverse
- Mrs. T’s Pierogies
- Harley Davidson Motorcycles
- PA-Made Steel: ATI, Cleveland Cliffs, Ellwood Group, U.S. Steel
- Zippo Lighters
- Asher’s Chocolate Pretzels
- Troegs Nugget Nectar
- Pixelle Microwaveable Bags
- Yuengling Lager
- Wabtec Locomotives
- PPG Paints and Coatings
- UTZ Potato Chips
- Rock Lititz Super Bowl Stage
- Musselman’s Applesauce
- Coherent Lasers
- Aurora Self-Driving Cars
- Dalessandro’s Cheese Steaks
- Pampers Baby Diapers
- Rutter’s Iced Tea
- Martin & Co. Guitars
- York Barbell
- Primanti Brothers Sandwich
- Crayola Crayons
- Seltzer’s Lebanon Bologna
- Hershey’s Kisses
- Lockheed Martin Spacecraft
- Martin’s Potato Rolls
- Channellock Pliers
- Sheetz MTO
- Astrobotic Lunar Robots
- Eat’n Park Smiley Cookies
- Duolingo Language Learning App
For more information, visit www.pachamber.org/coolest_thing_made_in_pa/ or Twitter.com/PAChamber.
