Auntie Anne’s Pretzels

It would be hard for the majority of us to comprehend Anne Beiler’s childhood growing up in an Amish-Mennonite family. She took the values instilled in her, along with her 8th-grade education and created a pretzel, a company and a story worth seeing on the big screen. With 30 nieces and nephews, the name wasn’t hard to come by at all. When she opened her first stand at a farmer’s market in eastern Pennsylvania, who knew it would grow to what it has. She never forgot where she came from and thus you will be hard-pressed to find a company that gives back the way Auntie Anne does.

 

General Restaurant Information

Food Type: Desserts & More

Restaurant Type: Fast Food

U.S. Locations: 1,298

States: 48 states, Auntie Anne’s Locations

Company Slogan: “Pretzel perfect”

 

Contact Information

Website: auntieannes.com

Questions: Contact Information

Phone number: 877-778-9588

Email: customercare@auntieannes.com

Blog: No

FAQ Page: No

 

Ownership

Who Owns Auntie Anne’s? Focus Brands who is owned by Roark Capital Group

Headquartered: Lancaster, PA

Contact Information: 

Website: roarkcapital.com

Email/contact page: Roark Capital Contact Information

Phone: 404-591-5200

Address: 1180 Peachtree St NE, Suite 2500, Atlanta, GA 30309

Do They Franchise? Franchise Information

 

 

What Is It Like To Work At Auntie Anne’s?

Employment Page

3.7/5 or 74%; 1,300 Reviews (indeed.com)

3.4/5, or 68%; 342 Reviews (glassdoor.com)

 

The History of Auntie Anne’s

Original Location: Downingtown, PA Farmers Market, then 1st store Saturday’s Market in Middletown, PA 

Founded: February 2, 1988

Founded By: Anne Beiler

Biography Articles:

This Is the Deeply Moving, Almost Unbelievable Story Behind Auntie Anne’s (time.com)

Anne Beiler: A Twist of Faith (cbn.com)

Anne’s Story (auntieannebeiler.com)

Anne Beiler (wikiwand.com)

Auntie Anne (charismanews.com)

Soft pretzels out of hard times (fortune.com)

Founder Obituary: Still Living

Name Origin: Named after the founder, Anne Beiler

History Page: Company History Page

Current View of Original Location: Downingtown, PA Farmers Market Location as it is today (link may not work on mobile devices without Google Maps)

Historical Articles: 

This Is the Deeply Moving, Almost Unbelievable Story Behind Auntie Anne’s (time.com

Interview with Anne Beiler (franchisetimes.com)

Auntie Anne’s, Inc. History (fundinguniverse.com)

 

Social Awareness

Charity Focus: Childhood cancer, hunger & community support

Green | Eco-Friendly: No resources found

Animal Cruelty: No resources found

 

Discounts At Auntie Anne’s

Rewards Program: Pretzel Perks 

Do Kids Eat Free? 

What day do kids eat free? Auntie Anne’s does not offer a kids eat free discount

Does Auntie Anne’s Offer Military Discounts?

Summary: Participating locations offer a 10% discount for military personnel

“With the military discount, Auntie Anne’s offers a 10% military discount at participating locations.” (militarydiscountscentral.com)

What Does Auntie Anne’s offer for My Birthday!?

Summary: Check with your local store to see what is currently being offered for your birthday.

“Get a free pretzel on your birthday when you join their VIP club (Very Important Pretzel-Lover)” (urbantastebud.com)

“Free pretzel” (hustlermoneyblog.com)

“‘Signing up for Pretzel Perks gets you a BOGO (buy one, get one) pretzel on your birthday, so bring a friend! (Just kidding. Go alone and get two.)” (thrillis.com)

‘Get a free classic pretzel on your birthday when you sign up for My Pretzel Perks loyalty program. Keep in mind your freebie coupon expires after 30 days. (people.com)

Does The Chain Offer First Responder Discounts?

Summary: No resources found

Does Auntie Anne’s Offer Senior Citizen | AARP Discounts?

Summary: No resources found

Are There Any Other Discounts or Benefits Offered?

Summary: Click here to join their Pretzel Perks reward program today

 

Amenities

Order Online: No

WiFi Available: Yes

Use Apple Pay: Some locations may accept Apple Pay  

Reservations: No

Catering: Auntie Anne’s Catering

Drive-Thru: No 

Open 24 Hours: No  

 

Customer Reviews of Auntie Anne’s

Yelp: 3.3/5 or 66%, 366 reviews sampled

Tripadvisor: 4.4/5 or 88%, 179 reviews sampled

Overall (weighted) Average: 3.65/5 or 73%, 545 reviews sampled

 

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Food & Nutrition

Menu: Auntie Anne’s Menu

Kids Menu: No kids menu offered

Secret Menu: No resources found

Most Popular Menu Item:  Pretzel Nuggets

Coke or Pepsi: Coke

Does Auntie Anne’s Serve Alcohol: No

Nutritional Information: Auntie Anne’s Nutrition Guide

Vegetarian | Vegan Options: 

145 Vegan Chain Restaurant Menus Every Vegan Needs to Know #1 (urbantastebud.com)

Farm to Table | Organic Options | Clean | Non-GMO: No resources found

Miscellaneous Nutrition Resources: 

The Best & Worst Pretzel at Auntie Anne’s (eatthis.com)

Auntie Anne’s Nutritional Information (fatsecret.com)

The Best and Worst Auntie Anne’s for Your Health, Ranked (cheatsheet.com)

Allergy Information

Allergen Information: Allergen Guide

Gluten Free Options: 

Company FAQ Page (auntieannes.com)

Auntie Anne’s-Style Gluten Free Soft Pretzels (glutenfreeonashoestring.com)

Dairy Free Options:

Auntie Anne’s Dairy Free Options (godairyfree.org)

Restaurant Guide For Dairy-Free Dining (godairyfree.org)

Peanut Free Options: 

A&W Peanut & Allergy Information (auntieannes.com)

Food Allergy Guides For Many Chain Restaurants (verywellhealth.com)

Ways to Eliminate Risks of Peanut Allergy When Dining Out (healthguidance.org)

 

Does Auntie Anne’s Have Any Secret Recipes?

Secret Recipes:  

Auntie Anne’s Pretzels (topsecretrecipes.com)

Soft Pretzels (geniuskitchen.com) (allrecipes.com) (allrestaurantrecipes.com) (sheknows.com) (thedailymeal.com) (whisktogether.com) (cookingclassy.com)

Auntie Anne’s-Style Gluten Free Soft Pretzels (glutenfreeonashoestring.com)

 

Did You Know?

Fun Facts: 

The founder, Anne Beiler,  has an 8th-grade education and was raised on a farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania by Amish-Mennonite parents. She earned her GED at the age of 50.

She has seven brothers and sisters giving her 30 nieces and nephews, thus making her an “Auntie” many times over.

She started making and selling pretzels in 1988 at a farmers market in Downingtown, PA to support her husband’s dream of having his own counseling center.

All the pretzels are made fresh at each individual store

At last count, the company had sold over 2.4 billion (with a B)

The company is extremely generous in supporting the charities they work with giving both money and food

Employees have competitions to see who can roll the fastest pretzel. The current record is 3.5 seconds! Check out the video below to watch.

They are somewhat famous for their lemonade as well. What goes better with a salty pretzel right? So much so that their lemonade was used to set the Guniess Book of World Records for the largest cup of lemonade (for Cancer of course)

The recipe (which has never changed) was created accidentally when the wrong ingredients were ordered.

Shaquel O’Neil owns over a dozen franchise locations

Most store locations use the organization Food to Donate.com to donate unsold food.

Interesting Articles:

12 Things You Need To Know Before Eating At Auntie Anne’s (delish.com)

9 Things You Didn’t Know About Auntie Anne’s (huffingtonpost.com)

11 Things Auntie Anne’s Employees Want You to Know (rd.com)

Pretzel Fun Facts (auntieannes.com)

FOCUS Brands Announces Launch of Auntie Anne’s® in China (prnewswirec.com)

Celebrate 30 Years of Pretzel Love (prnewswirec.com)

Auntie Anne’s wants to ‘bring pretzels to the people’ (prnewswirec.com)

 

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Auntie Anne’s on Social Media

Followers (as of September 2018) –  

Facebook: 985,291

Twitter: 57,800

Instagram: 79,400

Mobile Apps

Alternatives

Food Type: Bruster’s Ice Cream, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt

Restaurant Type: Biggby Coffee, Captain D’s, Culver’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, In-n-Out, Menchie’s, Pizza Hut, Steak ‘n Shake, White Castle, Zaxbys’

 

 

In Summary

If you’re on a diet or opposed to eating this type of food, the review is a moot point; you’re probably not going to visit anyway. It is a dessert/snack establishment, and you would, of course, know that going into it. When we put the ingredients to the side though, we find an American success story in Anne Beiler. If someone told you recently you wouldn’t make it or have convinced yourself of that notion, read her story; it’s a fascinating one. I love how she has become so successful with her 8th-grade education, but I love even more the focus she and the company have on giving back. If you’ve never tried one of their pretzels, it’s worth stopping by. Don’t forget to wash it down with some lemonade.

 

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Videos

 

https://youtu.be/n_hRoxcXAHk