A different twist
for a Philly favorite

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Soft pretzels have always been high on the list of comfort foods for Philadelphians. With a little help from the Philly Pretzel Factory, the doughy treat is being twisted into something more than a local institution — it’s also funding research to find a cure for breast cancer.
Through Oct. 31, Philly Pretzel Factory, at 7368 Frankford Ave., and its franchised locations are shaping their famous pretzel dough into the iconic ribbon that symbolizes breast-cancer awareness. The limited-edition pretzels are selling for $1 each, with 50 percent of the revenue being donated to aid breast-cancer education and research.
According to Martin Ferrill, Philly Pretzel’s vice president of operations, the Philadelphia-area stores will donate to the local chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The foundation was started in 1982, in memory of Komen by her sister Nancy G. Brinker, who has devoted her energies to doing everything possible to aid the quest for a breast-cancer cure. Philly Pretzel outlets in New Jersey will donate proceeds to a foundation in their market.
The benefit promotion is being held for only two weeks this year, but Dan DiZio, co-owner of Philly Pretzel Factory, hopes that next year his 140 franchisees will want to embrace the campaign.
If the ribbon pretzels prove to be as popular as the soft pretzels that Mayfair residents lined up for on that first day when DiZio and partner Len Lehman opened their doors, the fund-raiser is destined to bring in big bucks to fight breast cancer for many years to come.
It was in 1998 that DiZio, who hawked pretzels on Northeast Philly street corners as a youth, and Lehman decided to each contribute $17,000 to a business idea — bake and sell soft pretzels from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., make a little bit of money and spend the rest of the day on the golf course.
Their vision of a leisurely lifestyle, however, turned out to be far from reality. The partners opened their pretzel business one day in 1998 with a line at the door that remained pretty steady until 4:30 that afternoon, DiZio recalled.
"Typically we’d work until five p.m. or six p.m., go to Sam’s Club to buy the flour, sleep on the flour bags for a few hours and then start baking at about midnight," he explained. "We didn’t know there were distributors that could deliver flour."
Though DiZio has a degree in finance and economics, the former stockbroker is the first to admit that the pair went into their new enterprise blind, without a business plan.
"We didn’t even have cash registers. We had aprons," DiZio said, leisurely discussing his business in a conference room above the Frankford Avenue storefront, which doubles as the corporate headquarters.
Almost 10 years and hundreds of thousands of pretzels later, the business has made its share of dough. The partners have twice expanded to incorporate adjacent storefronts, as well as the apartments above them on Frankford Avenue.
Philly Pretzel Factory now has 140 franchised locations, including other Northeast Philly stores at 1687 Grant Ave., 1903 Cottman Ave., 12362 Academy Road and at the Frankford Terminal.
Three Florida locations are scheduled to open in the next six months. Another store is set for Staten Island, N.Y.
The company’s main focus for expansion is along the I-95 corridor, explained Ferrill, the company’s operations VP. Philly Pretzel also hired 14 people during the last six months just to handle corporate responsibilities and franchise training and support.
While the business end of Philly’s favorite carbohydrate has seen tremendous growth, the product remains the same. The pretzels are priced at three for a dollar, with 25 costing $5, and sales often are for 100 at a time, Ferrill noted.
"We make the very basic, traditional, real Philadelphia soft pretzel, salt or no salt," he said. "And we always bake only enough so that the pretzels will be warm and soft." ••
To learn more about Philly Pretzel Factory, visit www.phillysoftpretzelfactory.com
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com