Auntie Anne's now in Cebu

For those like me who have never heard about Auntie Anne’s pretzels until recently, allow me to share with you  a brief story on how it  all started.

 The year was 1987. The place — Maryland’s Farmer’s Market in Maryland, Pennsylvania.

 Anne and Jonas Beiler, after a “fortunate” ingredients mix-up and some experimentation, produced a pretzel, which was soon promoted to be described “Better than the best you’ve ever tasted.” The following year they launched Auntie Anne’s Inc. Its first franchise opened in 1989.

 Twenty-two years later, the pretzel products mushroomed in 44 states and in more than 22 countries including, Canada, China, Greece, Honduras, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela.

 It took a little while for the pretzels to reach our island from the capital city, when  two enterprising gentlemen/good buddies Toto Locsin and Eduard Loop, together with Manila-based Paula Larrazabal  Bondoc, launched the first ever Auntie Anne’s in Cebu’s   SM  City , the biggest shopping mall outside of Metro Manila.

Dr. Jun Larrazabal, his wife Zeny and daughter Betty Veloso

 Cebu Provincial Governor Gwen Garcia and movie heartthrob Richard Gomez, dear friends of the franchisees, were guests of honor.

Susan Sala, Tere Rotaeche, Grace Lozada, Mayen Tan

 While Auntie Anne’s Pretzel is undeniably shaped like a pretzel, it is most definetly not just a pretzel. Its fresh, sweet taste is coupled with a light, golden brown, bread-like texture and it comes in a variety of flavors.

 The core product lineup includes the Original, Cinnamon Raisin, Glazin’ Raisin, Almond and Bacon Bits, along with Stix and the Cheese Dog.  To complement the selections, the brand’s famous cold beverages such as the old-fashioned, freshly squeezed lemonade, iced tea, choco coffee twist, and its gourmet coffee selection of classic, hazelnut, French vanilla and Columbian Dekaf can be enjoyed.

 The  distinctive blue, white, and yellow stall on the upper ground floor of the  mall’s northwing section  is professionally staffed with a service crew trained in food preparation, customer service, and store operation and maintenance.

 Today, Auntie Anne’s supports more than 300 franchisees with over 1,000 locations worldwide, having recently rolled its billionth pretzel.