Wetzel's Pretzels facts for kids
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Wetzel's Pretzels, Tysons Corner Center
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Trade name
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Wetzel’s Pretzels |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Food and beverage Pretzel Shop |
| Genre | Quick service |
| Founded | 1994 South Bay Galleria, Redondo Beach, California, U.S. |
| Founder | Rick Wetzel Bill Phelps |
| Headquarters |
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US
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Number of locations
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370 (2023) |
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Key people
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Jennifer Schuler, CEO |
| Products |
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| Revenue | US$245 million (US, 2022) |
| Owner |
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Number of employees
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2,000 (2021) |
Wetzel’s Pretzels is a popular American fast-food chain. They are famous for their delicious pretzels and hot dogs. You can find their stores in over 370 places. These include shopping malls, airports, and even theme parks. They also have food trucks now! The company's main office is in Pasadena, California.
How It Started
Wetzel’s Pretzels began in 1994. It was founded by Rick Wetzel and Bill Phelps. Their very first store opened in Redondo Beach, California. The name "Wetzel's" came from Rick Wetzel's childhood.
In 1997, the company got some new investors. These included John Davis and Gary L. Wilson. Gary Wilson had connections to Disney. This helped Wetzel's Pretzels open stores inside Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Over the years, the company's ownership changed a few times. In 2007, a company called Levine Leichtman Capital Partners bought most of Wetzel's Pretzels. Later, in 2016, another company, CenterOak Partners, took over.
In 2019, Jennifer Schuler became the new CEO. She took over from Bill Phelps. In December 2022, MTY Food Group bought Wetzel's Pretzels.
What's on the Menu?
Wetzel's Pretzels offers a tasty menu. It focuses on pretzels, hot dogs, and refreshing drinks.
Food Items
The main stars are, of course, the pretzels! You can get them in different flavors. There's the classic Wetzel’s Original, which can be salted or unsalted. They also have cinnamon sugar and pepperoni pretzels.
If you like smaller bites, try the Bitz. These are snackable pretzel pieces. They come in Original, Cinn-a-bitz, or Pizza Bitz. Pizza Bitz have pepperoni in them.
They also have items with hot dogs. The Wetzel Dog is a full-sized hot dog wrapped in pretzel dough. For smaller snacks, there are Dog Bites and Cheesy Dog Bites.
Drinks
Wetzel’s is well-known for its fresh lemonades. You can get them original or strawberry flavored. They also offer frozen lemonades.
Other cool drinks include granitas. Wetzel's was also one of the first snack places to offer boba popping pearls. You can find them in flavors like Cherry and Mango.
