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. 

Franchisee Spotlight: Mike DeCerbo, Stafford Township, New Jersey

Mike DeCerbo grew up in Attica, N.J., graduated from Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., and worked for his father in the heating and air conditioning industry for 20 years before Mike decided he wanted to open his own business.

“I started looking for a business opportunity, shopping around, comparing different franchise opportunities,” said Mike. Unexpectedly, that opportunity would present itself at his son’s soccer game, where he met a franchisee who was delivering pretzels as treats. He ended up talking to the franchisee about Philly Pretzel, and after doing some more research, Mike decided to move forward with the brand. Mike, along with his wife Marcy, opened their first location in Manahawkin, N.J. in 2007. Six years later, Mike will be adding another location to his business portfolio—a store inside Manahawkin’s Walmart.

For Mike, opening a Philly Pretzel Factory at Walmart presents a unique business opportunity. “I think that you have a captive audience at Walmart, “ he said. “We’ll be at the front of the store and the first thing you see when you walk in. Since we’re already in town, people can recognize the brand, but hopefully it will introduce our excellent product to people not familiar with PPF and get them interested.”

Why did you choose an opportunity with PPF?

I guess a lot of my decision was based on the cost and the ease of operations—it’s not a whole lot compared to opening restaurant or something like that. Overall, it’s a simple and straightforward concept. I liked the idea of a franchise as opposed to starting something on my own.  Also, I think corporate has been great to work with. Philly Pretzel Factory already had brand recognition and marketing strategies in place; that let us hit the ground running.

Are you involved with any charities or do any community outreach with your business?

We frequently work with different organizations that are doing fundraisers;, we give them gift cards and gift baskets and do discounts for high schools. After Hurricane Sandy, a lot of high schools were used as shelters, so we donated some products to first responders and shelters—basically any place that was collecting donations for people who were displaced and homeless we worked with them.

What challenges have you overcome to get where you are now?  / Are there any challenges that you have had, in either your professional career or personal life, in getting where you are today?

That’s hard to say. We opened in December 2007 and the economy started to get bad in 2008. We haven’t been open in a good economy, so hopefully business will just continue to go up from here.

Philly Pretzel Factory featured in Lebanon Daily News

Philly Pretzel Factory was recently featured in the Lebanon Daily News in an article titled "Military buddies opening pretzel business at N. Lebanon Wal-Mart." Matt Giacobbe, Marc Ferraro and Wesley Craig, three friends that met while in the military, are opening a Philly Pretzel Factory in the Wal-Mart at 1355 E. Lehman St. in North Lebanon Township. The three each have unique backgrounds in regards to business and the food service industry.  One sold pretzels in his local neighborhood when he was younger, one worked in his family’s Italian restaurant, and the final partner already owns several other businesses.  The group prides themselves on the freshness of their product and is excited to bring the new food to the area. 

The group was featured in a story on LDNews.com, read full story here.  

Military buddies opening pretzel business at N. Lebanon Wal-Mart

By LES STEWART
Staff Writer

Updated:   08/11/2013 05:43:17 PM EDT

About nine months ago, three military buddies sat at a restaurant table and talked about opening a business together.

One of them sold pretzels in his neighborhood when he was a child. Another worked in his family's Italian restaurant when he was growing up. Another member of the group is in business with several other military buddies.

The discussion turned to Philadelphia food staples, including pretzels. They settled on opening a Philly Pretzel Factory franchise.

On Friday, they will see the result of their efforts when they open their Philly Pretzel Factory franchise inside the Wal-Mart at 1355 E. Lehman St. in North Lebanon Township.

The store, occupying space formerly used as a photography studio, will be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Matt Giacobbe, one of the owners of the new business.

"Everything will be freshly made," said Giacobbe, a recruiting and retention officer for the Pennsylvania Air National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap.

Looking at Lebanon County, Giacobbe said the area is developing quickly and seems an ideal place to introduce some new foods.

Giacobbe said he was the one who suggested opening a Philly Pretzel Factory store.

"We're on track for two stores," Giacobbe said of their plans for Lebanon County.

Another Philly Pretzel Factory is planned for the 2200 block of West Cumberland Street in front of the Lebanon Valley Mall, he said. That store will open in early December. They also plan to open a Philly Pretzel Factory at a Wal-Mart in Chambersburg.

Click here to continue reading story. 

Philly Pretzel Factory featured in The Daily Local

The Daily Local recently featured Philly Pretzel Factory's new franchisee, Joe Chiarello, a NJ entrepreneur, who is opening a Philly Pretzel Factory and adding more food service industry knowledge to his resume.  In the past, Chiarello has operated a Rita’s Water Ice, Peace of Pizza and a Manhattan Bagel.  At the young age of 24, Chiarello is excited to start this new step in his career path.  He credits West Chester University, WCU, for his success.

To read full article, click here. 

WCU grad part of growing Philly Pretzel franchise

• By BILL RETTEW JR.

• Posted: Tuesday, 08/06/13 11:16 pm

• 
  

WEST CHESTER — Golden Ram football player and 1998 West Chester University business management and finance graduate Joe Chiarello is using his education to make and market affordable, hot, soft and fresh pretzels.

Chiarello owns and operates two Philly Pretzel Factory franchises in Richboro and Southhampton. He also ran Rita’s Water Ice and Peace A Pizza franchises. Chiarello operated a Manhattan Bagel franchise just a year out of college, at age 24. He’s also managed a jewelry store, a vending company and an online apparel company.

“I’m always looking for the next biggest thing,” he said.

Chiarello’s experiences at WCU taught him leadership, the book side of running a business and checks and balances.

Chiarello also learned about “sweat equity ” in school, then further developed the concept at work.

“It’s one thing to learn it by the book, it’s another thing being a hands-on operator,” he said.

 Chiarello attended WCU on a partial scholarship. The tailback and special teams player said sports taught him to be a team player, discipline and to be goal-oriented. He said he looks for athletes to fill positions at his businesses since they tend to have better success.

Chiarello works 12-hour days and six day weeks at both shops and at a home office.

To continue reading article, click here. 

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