Philly Pretzel Factory Openings

We are excited to share that we have opened two new Philly Pretzel Factory stores! Our latest openings this past week were in Chambersburg and in Mays Landing, Pennsylvania inside of Walmart. Congratulations to our franchisees who continue to help us grow and we are thrilled to now be able to offer our pretzels for more customers.

Our Chambersburg Philly Pretzel Factory is located at 1730 Lincoln Way E. and you can reach the store at (717) 261-1699.

Our Mays Landing Philly Pretzel Factory is located at 4620 Black Horse Pike and you can reach the store at (609) 625-7676.

Philly Pretzel Factory featured in QSR Magazine

Philly Pretzel was featured in QSR Magazine in an article titled, "Pretzels and Italian Ice: Match Made in Heaven?" The article discusses the new co-branding of stores between Rita's Italian Ice and Philly Pretzel Factory. Marty Ferrill discussed how the two products will work well together and the decision for branding to add extra revenue streams for franchisees. 

For full article, click here. 

Pretzels and Italian Ice: Match Made in Heaven?

By Marlee Murphy

Most franchisees would jump at the opportunity to boost their revenue with limited additional costs. Jeff Moody and Marty Ferrill are trying to give their franchisees the ability to do just that.

Moody, CEO of Rita’s Italian Ice, and Ferrill, president of Philly Pretzel Factory, announced a new cobranding operation between their brands.

“It gives our franchisees and potentially Philly’s franchisees the ability to go into more places, to have higher volumes, to share personnel and facilities, and to get better economies,” Moody says. “Also, it provides a greater line up for consumers.”

Moody and Ferrill believe a dual-brand store will attract more consumers and generate more revenue than a single-brand store. “Pretzels and what we call ‘water ice’ go really well together. It’s a really nice fit,” Ferrill says. “And the additional revenue for one franchisee is the added benefit.”

Ferrill says franchisees’ finances are used more efficiently when they are able to utilize one space for two different products.

“The economics work better in terms of the build out for the space when you only need one thing now, like one refrigerator, one POS system,” he says.

Start-up costs for cobranded stores will be similar to those of a single-brand store, but franchisees with the two brands will see more returns due to their product variety, Moody says.

He says cobranding success is highly dependent upon operational, marketing, and product compatibility. Rita’s Italian Ice and Philly Pretzel Factory are both Philly-based brands and both share a commitment to high-quality, fresh products, making them ideal candidates for cobranding, Moody says.

To continue reading, click here. 

Philly Pretzel Factory featured in the Public Online

Philly Pretzel Factory was recently featured in the Public Online discussing the new location coming to Chambersburg! The group of owners that is working on the expansion of the brand in Pennsylvania is Matt Giacobbe and Steve Zappa along with three other active duty and retired military veterans. They are anticipating working with and hiring veterans in Pennsylvania as well as supporting the veteran community with their businesses. 

Check out the article here. 

Group of vets bringing Philly Pretzel Factory to Chambersburg

By MARCUS RAUHUT, @MarcusRauhutPO

A group of veterans-turned-entrepreneurs are bringing a Philly Pretzel Factory to Chambersburg.

The franchise, scheduled to open soon inside the Chambersburg Walmart, is owned by five active duty and retired military members.

"This seemed like something to do that was fun and enjoyable and something we could do to give back to fellow veterans," said Matt Giacobbe, one of the owners. "Three of the five of us are from Philly and we thought about soft pretzels. We thought about how we could come up with a business plan of vets helping vets."

Giacobbe, who has served 27 years in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, said the business model is built around helping veterans, whether that means presenting checks to veterans organizations or hiring military members or their families.

"I think our hiring strategy has proven very successful in our first store," Giacobbe said.

Their first location held its grand opening Friday in Lebanon. The store, which employs several National Guardsmen, presented a donation to the Pennsylvania Veterans Foundation.

Among the five business partners, each has their area of specialty, according to Steve Zappa, who retired in 2010 after 34 years in the Army National Guard.

"Some are good with construction, some are good with banking, some are good with marketing," he said. "Each have their niche we're good at and we all have each other's back."

Philly Pretzel Factory was founded 15 years ago by two college buddies.

To continue reading article, click here.