Abington's ‘Pretzel Factory’ Celebrates the Holiday

Is there a snack food that’s more “Philadelphia” than the soft pretzel?

No … the answer is no. 

Hard pretzels are fine, but there’s nothing like a hot, soft pretzel (not those frozen store ones) served with a little bit of mustard.

The Philly Pretzel Factory in Abington — as well as the other 100-plus stores in the area — is celebrating National Pretzel Day on Friday, April 26.

Bob Tilton owns the Philly Pretzel Factory franchise at 1836 Old York Road. He’s been running the place since July, but the business has been there for the past four to five years, he said.

Tilton, a Bordentown, N.J. resident, is an importer/exporter (along with the pretzels there’s got to be a Seinfeld joke in there), but he said owning the Pretzel Factory really takes him back to his original trade, baking. Tilton said his family has been baking in the Trenton area for 30 years, and he really understands and enjoys the baking business.

And he said the Abington community has really embraced the business.

“Business in Abington is great,” he said. “Our clientele includes a lot of repeat customers, and in return, we do quite a bit of donations and sponsor a bunch of charities. Business has really increased since we purchased it.” 

As part of National Pretzel Day, each Philly Pretzel Factory location will be giving out a free pretzel to each customer. Tilton said the first 100 customers will also get a card that entitles them to a free pretzel-a-day for the month of May.

The experience will be new to Tilton; on a normal day, he said his store sells between 400 to 500 pretzels.

He said he’s expecting business to double or triple on Friday.

“I don’t know exactly what to expect, but I like different promotions — those things energize you. It’s like Super Bowl Sunday — working nonstop from the get go. It takes me back to my bakery days.”

The Philly Pretzel Factory in Abington is located at 1836 Old York Road.