Philly Pretzel Factory freatured in Hillsborough Patch

Hillsborough Patch reporter Eileen Oldfield got in touch with new Hillsborough Philly Pretzel franchisee Frank Calu on his first day of work which happened to fall at a time when community residents are picking up the pieces from Hurricane Irene. That didn’t stop Frank Calu though as he took to the streets to help his fellow neighbors in good faith and passed out pretzels to those on route 206. A portion of the article is below and can be read in its entirety by clicking here.

Business Owner Offers Treat for Drivers Stranded on 206

Cars stretched along Route 206 Monday and Tuesday, as flooded roads and other hurricane-related damages closed most back roads to normal traffic.

For Philly Pretzel Factory owner Frank Calu, the solution to a two-hour wait time misery was pretzels.

“We just saw everybody sitting there, looking miserable,” Calu said. “We said, why not make everybody’s day a little better with a little food in their belly.”

As a result, Calu spent Monday handing out 100 individually-wrapped pretzels from his shop at no charge to motorists. He continued his efforts Tuesday, with the assistance of company mascot Phill-E, and handed out 160 pretzels that day.

“Most people didn’t want to roll down their windows at first, because they thought they had to pay for them,” Calu said. “But people were very receptive and thankful, especially those with kids.”

It’s only Calu’s first week as owner of the Hillsborough shop, having just purchased the franchise from the previous owner—and Monday was his first day at work.

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