In 1991, when David Serban was almost 11, he left Romania with his younger brother Daniel and parents Ana and Constantin. The family settled in Akron, where relatives were already living. Instead of pursuing their former professions – Ana had been a teacher and Constantin worked with computers- the couple decided to become culinary entrepreneurs, making and selling traditional cakes and pastries.
“Baking has always been my mom’s hobby,” says David. “She learned pastry making from her mother, and from our German and Hungarian neighbors who lived in Transylvania, the region of Romania where we come from.”
Akron’s West Point Market was a customer, and owner Russ Vernon, now retired, encouraged them to expand. They took his advice and in 2006 the Serban’s opened Perla Homemade Delights, a specialty market in Parma, offering baked goods and prepared foods from their homeland as well as other Eastern European countries. The sons handle the business side of things while their parents concentrate on what happens in the kitchen. “We all work at this fulltime, and overtime,” David says.
In addition to Ana’s nut and poppy seed rolls, strudel, Dobos tortes, and savarines (a rum infused cream puff), cases are filled with cabbage rolls, borsch, kotlets (schnitzel), and imported salamis. Handmade pierogies- available by the dozen and with eight different fillings- are the biggest sellers. “The dough is delicate and must be very thin. It’s hard to handle and making them takes a lot of time,” David explains. “That’s why so few people do it anymore.” It’s also the reason so many flock to this shop in the Ukranian Village neighborhood that’s home to a number of ethnic food destinations.