Philly Pretzel Factory featured in Reading Eagle

Philly Pretzel Factory was recently featured in the Reading Eagle in Reading, PA for the newest location opening in West Lawn. Local owners, Paula Wenger and James Lake along with President Marty Ferrill shared the background of the company and the multi-unit owners expansion in Pennsylvania. Wenger and Lake are a bother sister duo that have opened three locations since first getting into the franchise in 2007 when they opened in Muhlenberg. Ferrill discussed the opportunity for multi-unit owners to get into the quickly growing brand, the ability to operate multiple locations and still be able to pursue another career.

Here is a link to the full article online.

Three partners are growing their Philly Pretzel Factory franchise
By David A. Kostival Reading Eagle correspondent (Photo credit below)
(Photo Credit) Madison Poticher, left, 18, of Mohnton, and co-owner Paula Wenger twist pretzels at the Philadelphia Pretzel Factory in West Lawn. The store is the second for Wenger and her two partners, who also run the store in Muhlenberg Township. The Philly Pretzel Factory has been around since 1998. And James Lake was there at the start. Kind of. Lake, 41 of Spring Township, co-owns two stores in Berks County. Back in the day, he attended college at East Stroudsburg University with company founders Lenny Lehman and Dan DiZio. "In 1997 Len told me that he and Dan were going to purchase an oven and open a pretzel bakery," Lake said. Then in 2006 he met up with DiZio at college homecoming weekend. By that time, Philly Pretzel Factory had grown to about 35 stores, and DiZio told Lake the company wanted to move into the Reading area. That started the wheels turning for Lake, his sister Paula Wenger, 44, and her husband, Andy Wenger, 44, both of Spring Township. One problem: All three were busy with full-time jobs. Lake and Andy Wenger work in law enforcement, and Paula Wenger is a middle school teacher in the Wilson School District. Paula said when all three went home to Bucks County for Thanksgiving in 2006 they decided to visit some Philly Pretzel Factory stores. "We went to visit four stores on Black Friday and just sat there and watched as people went in and out," she said. "We immediately knew this was too good of an opportunity to pass up." In July 2007, the trio opened a store on the Fifth Street Highway in Muhlenberg Township. Their original plan was to open one in Spring Township, but at the time another franchise owner had claimed a right of first refusal on that territory. The business was slow at first, but as more people tried the pretzels, business picked up and the location became successful. (To continue reading article, click here) Reading Eagle: Bill Uhrich  Full Article: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=491928

Philly Soft Pretzel Factory featured in Bucks County Herald

Philly Pretzel Factory was featured in the Bucks County Herald in an article entitled, “It’s Time to Make Pretzels, National Pretzel Day on April 26th.” The article discussed how the Lahaska Philly Pretzel Factory and the others in Bucks County are celebrating National Pretzel Day by giving away free pretzels all day at their locations. . One of the things that Philly Pretzel Factory takes pride in as a franchise is providing the hottest and freshest pretzels right out of the oven, and they are looking forward to sharing them with all of their fans on April 26th at all the locations throughout Bucks County. Click here and go to page 44 & 45 to view the article in its entirety!

It's time to make the pretzels
BY DAVID CAMPBELL

Even in the dead of winter, or early spring, short sleeves are the norm at Lahaska's Philly Pretzel Factory on Lower York Road.

Franchise owner Scott McConney and his staff fire up a couple batches of pretzels twice an hour, which means the oven is allowed to breathe hot air frequently into more than 900 square feet of building space.

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