After three weeks of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry’s bracket-style contest where voters weighed in on Twitter with their favorite PA-made products, Pittsburgh-based Primanti Bros. was named the “Coolest Thing Made in PA.”
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 percent of the total vote. The restaurant is celebrating the occasion by offering free beer to customers at every location across Pennsylvania on Wednesday, April 5.
“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!”
“We’ve known that Primanti Bros. was the Coolest Thing in PA since 1933 – but we’re glad everyone else knows, too,” said Primanti Bros. CEO Adam Golomb. “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 pierogy love.”
The “Coolest Thing Made in PA” contest began on March 14, with 32 companies competing. Coverage has been broadcast across statewide radio, television, and newspaper outlets. The full list of coverage can be found here.
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.
###
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state’s largest broad-based business association, with its statewide membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of BusinessTM.