HARRISBURG, Pa. — March Madness is behind us, and we finally have an official winner of the Pa. Chamber of Business and Industry “Coolest Thing Made in PA” bracket.
Drum roll, please... the honor goes to Pittsburgh-based Primanti Bros., a 90-year-old sandwich chain.
- The Pa. Chamber of Business and Industry put out its own bracket called “Coolest Thing Made in PA”
- It pulled products from all kinds of Pa. businesses — from Meta to Crayola to Hershey
- Voting has already started and local Lehigh Valley businesses are included
The winner was decided via Twitter, with 32,000 people voting.
Primanti, known for slathering coleslaw and fries on its sandwiches, will celebrate its victory by giving away beer to customers on Wednesday, April 5.
“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," PA Chamber President Luke Bernstein said.
"These last three weeks have left no doubt that Pennsylvanians are passionate about their homegrown products."PA Chamber President and CEO Luke Bernstein
"These last three weeks have left no doubt that Pennsylvanians are passionate about their homegrown products."
Winner knocked out Martin, Crayola
Primanti knocked off Upper Nazareth Township's Martin Guitar in the quarterfinal round — making Martin the Lehigh Valley company that advanced farthest in the competition.
Primanti also took out the Lehigh Valley's other entry in the contest, Forks Township's Crayola Crayons, one round earlier.
Before falling, Martin knocked out Rutter's Iced Tea and Philadelphia's Dallesandro's Cheesesteaks.
Crayola started the contest with a big win over Seltzer's Lebanon Bologna before falling to Primanti.
Generalized PA steel, which has roots in Bethlehem, also made the bracket.
From Schuylkill County, Mrs. T's Pierogies and Yuengling Lager made the cut. Mrs. T's was the contest's runner-up.
"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.”Tom Twardzik, owner of Ateeco, Inc., the parent company of Mrs. T’s
“We congratulate Primanti Bros. on their win," said Tom Twardzik, owner of Ateeco, Inc., which is the parent company of Mrs. T’s.
"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 contest began March 14, with 32 companies competing. The winner was declared on April 3.Full
Full list of participants
The full list of companies competing was:
- 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