Wetzel's Pretzel Shop At West Edmonton Mall Offers New Twist On Quick-service Food

The longest lineups at West Edmonton Mall these days aren't for the latest high-tech device or blockbuster movie - but for hot, freshly baked, soft and doughy treats.

Wetzel's Pretzels, a Pasadena, Calif.-based chain, opened its first Western Canada franchise at the mall on March 14 and staff at the kiosk on Level 1 in Phase 3 have been kept busy rolling in the dough.

Nestle marketing executives Rick Wetzel and Bill Phelps were on a business trip to Seattle in 1994 when they came up with the idea of pretzels as a new snack-food business. A passerby told them fresh-baked pretzels were delicious. They named the company after a schoolyard taunt Wetzel endured while growing up. In November 2012, the Los Angeles Times reported that the privately held empire had 263 franchises with 3,000 employees, 12 company-owned stores with 150 workers and $107 million in annual sales.

Husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Inder and Gary Grewal of California own the West Edmonton Mall franchise.

Inder spared a few minutes on Monday to talk about Edmonton's latest twist in quick-service food:

Q: How did you come to open a Wetzel's Pretzels in Edmonton?

A: "We have three stores: one in Universal Studios Hollywood and two in Tri-Cities (in Washington state). We got the opportunity and nobody, I think, was willing to come here. We decided to try it because we knew our product was good and people are going to love it."

Q: Are you moving to Edmonton?

A: "We'll be coming back and forth. I have two managers who will be managing the store."

Q: Why was Edmonton chosen for the first Western Canada store?

A: "This concept works really good in the malls. When we did the research, we found out that this is one of the biggest malls here and we knew that we don't have any competition so we chose this spot. It's even better than (Universal Studios Hollywood) CityWalk because of the foot traffic. It gets divided there; they don't even go to the other end. This is perfect."

Q: How would you describe the reception for your new store?

A: "We had a lineup to the store called The Brick Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It was like crazy."

Q: Why are people lining up for pretzels?

A: "Because we make everything from scratch in the store. Starting from the dough and the lemonade, everything is fresh. In California, we have Auntie Anne's, our competition. Their pretzels are four ounces and ours are six ounces. It's a filler. It's not like a snack. It fills you up."

Q: Are you getting customers who have tried Wetzel's while travelling in the United States?

A: "Yes. Every day we get customers who are like - Oh, my God. Thank God you guys are here. When we go to the States we always eat Wetzel's Pretzels. Why are they not opening in Edmonton? - We had two customers from Calgary wondering when we are opening in Calgary."

Q: Are you launching other Canadian stores?

A: "We will once we set up this one and look for other locations. We have a couple of locations in mind. - I would really be blessed if I can get another in West Edmonton Mall on the other side."

Franchise Ranking History
Franchise 500: #157 (2014), #141 (2013), #126 (2012), #134 (2011), #167 (2010),
Fastest-Growing: #87 (2010),
America's Top Global: #118 (2013), #104 (2012), #110 (2011), #133 (2010)

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