Twistin’ the night away at Taste of Philly
Things didn’t start off so well in Bill McCloskey’s first venture into
franchise ownership. While his purchase of A Taste of Philly Hand
Twisted Soft Pretzel Bakery this past July went fine, not much else did.
There were some code enforcement issues he had to get fixed (corporate
is based in Pennsylvania where, let’s just say, building codes are a
little different than New Jersey’s), there were some vendor delivery
issues, and that bit of news that another soft pretzel franchise was
opening a store just down the street from his establishment in Rio
Grande. When Taste of Philly advertised the big grand opening, lots of
people showed up for the joyous event to find the store was locked,
unoccupied and not staffed.
When they were able to open Jan. 2, locals responded despite the
embarrassing snafu.
“The community has been unbelievable. The advertising of the grand
opening turned some people off, but we let people know what was going on
with radio ads and signs on the doors, and when we finally opened,
people really supported us,” said McCloskey, who owns the franchise with
his father, Bob, of Shawcrest.
The first customers went in for the basic pretzels, but many have
learned there is much more to the menu.
“By far, the pretzel pockets and pretzel dogs have just been
unbelievable,” said McCloskey, a retirement account manager for Vanguard
who lives in Doylestown, Pa., who was seen hand-twisting pretzel after
pretzel the day before the Super Bowl as people arrived for party trays,
bags of regular and mini pretzels and boxes of nuggets.
“The typical franchise sells two dozen pretzel dogs a day; we’ve been
averaging five dozen. It’s really been off the charts.”
The hot dogs are wrapped in a flattened pretzel and can be dunked in
various mustards or cheeses, or enjoyed plain.
The pretzel pockets are also flattened pretzel dough that’s filled with
pepperoni and cheese or ham and cheese and then folded over and baked.
With each visit, McCloskey said, people seem to be exploring something
else on the menu. There are breakfast pretzels, pizza pretzels,
specialty pretzels, pretzel nuggets, pretzel braids and party trays.
“That’s the beauty of it. We have so many repeat customers and each time
they’re trying something different,” he said.
The inspiration to open a pretzel franchise came from Bill’s visits to
the shore in mostly the summer months and not being able to find a
quality soft pretzel. And yes, we are mostly soft pretzel snobs in this
region. Folks know a good soft pretzel and it doesn’t come from a
convenience store.
“That’s exactly what I was banking on. There’s such a large New York and
Philly presence here that I knew these people would know what a good
pretzel is. This past summer I couldn’t get a decent pretzel, it was
either a Super Pretzel on the boardwalk or a reheated pretzel at the
Wawa. I had had enough and thought I’d look into this a little further.”
He researched and sampled products in the industry and settled on A
Taste of Philly for the menu variety and also the quality of the
product.
“This isn’t a pretzel factory where they just churn out factory-made
pretzels. We make hand-twisted pretzels from premium ingredients and I
think people will notice the difference in taste,” he said.
“People really seem to enjoy the product. They tell a friend, a
co-worker, a family member, and then more people come in. Business has
gotten better each and every day since we opened.”
Rob Seitzinger can be e-mailed at
seitz@catamaranmedia.com or you can
comment on this story by calling 624-8900, ext. 250. Visit his Cape
Cuisine food blog online at
www.shorenewstoday.com/columns.
On the Menu
A Taste of Philly: Hand Twisted Soft Pretzel Bakery
Grande Shopping Center
(In front of Michael’s between GNC and Pearl Vision)
3315 Route 9 South
Rio Grande
465-6520
Open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m.
Customer favorites: Pizza Pretzel Braid (think French bread pizza),
plain $1.50 or pepperoni $1.75; Pretzel Pockets (ham and cheese or
pepperoni and cheese), $4; Pretzel Hot Dog (with cheese), $1.75; Gourmet
Pretzels (cinnamon sugar, pecan crumb, sour cream and onion, or salt and
butter), $1.75; Breakfast Pretzels (pretzel roll with egg and cheese
with pork roll, sausage or bacon), Dip choices of cheddar cheese,
jalapeno cheese, chocolate, caramel or peanut butter, 2 oz. -- 50 cents,
8 oz. -- $2; and $3.75; party trays (choose nuggets, minis, sticks or
combo with choice of dips), $26 or $34. Also regular pretzels (3 for
$1.50, 50 for $15, 100 for $25), minis (4 for $1.50, 50 for $13.50, 100
for $18), braids (salted, unsalted, garlic or everything, $1.75), sticks
(9 for $2.50) and nuggets (20 for $3, 60 and a dip for $8, or 100 and a
dip for $13.50).
Photos by Jen Arthur