Couple moved to tears by honorary street name

A family with a successful food business in the Inkster area for nearly 40 years was celebrated Friday with a new street name.

For the next five years, Hutchings Street from Inkster Boulevard to Sheppard Street in Inkster Industrial Park will get a second name, Leonard and Eleane Baranyk Way.

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"This is something that we'll cherish and remember for the rest of our lives," said Leonard Baranyk after the renaming ceremony.

Eleane Baranyk echoed her husband's sentiments and her eyes filled with tears as she thanked their family and employees.

"I'm very thankful for all our friends," she said "We wouldn't be where we are without everyone else."

The Baranyk family has owned independent food distributor Pratts Food Service on Hutchings Street for 37 years.

"It's a huge economic engine," said Coun. Mike Pagtakhan (Point Douglas), who gave a special plaque to the couple. "A really wonderful Winnipeg institution."

Pratts was founded in the North End in 1910, and the Baranyk family purchased it in 1980.

At that time, the business employed eight people, but Pratts has expanded to Saskatchewan and Alberta and now employs nearly 550, including 250 in Winnipeg.

"They are a family that truly exemplifies the values and beliefs of hard work, honest and fair business practices all while working in a family atmosphere," Pratt's vice-president Tom Tetlock said in a news release.

Leonard and Eleane Baranyk Way

7 years ago

Duration 0:42

A family with a successful food business in the Inkster area for nearly 40 years was celebrated Friday with a new street name. The Baranyk family has owned independent food distributor Pratts Food Service on Hutchings Street for 37 years.