BY CAMBRIAE WINIFRED BATES
Almost every Philadelphian loves soft pretzels. They love the warmth of pretzels when they’re fresh out the oven, they love the doughy centers of the figure eight shape, they love the inexpensive price, and to top it off they love the convenience of being able to eat the snack on-the-go. Recently, I set out on a quest to find out why and how soft pretzels became such a vital part of Philadelphia culture. Through a series of interviews and a lot of research, I discovered that pretzels have had a long life in Philadelphia since the city’s conception. Pretzels hold a soft place in the hearts of most natives because when the city was founded, the doughy treat was rooted into its structure.
A PRETZEL STORY
The first person I interviewed was a co-worker of mine named Ruth. Ruth has lived in Philadelphia all her life. Growing up in the South Philly area in the forties, Ruth experienced much of the city’s culture. I took the time out to ask her if she remembered the first time she ate a soft pretzel. “I was just a little kid,” she said, “and Tom the Pretzel man would come down my block every day, ringing his bell, selling his pretzels. All the kids would run outside, top speed with their change.” Tom was like an ice cream man for pretzels, exciting the block when they heard him coming. Ruth was too young to remember if every neighborhood had a pretzel man, but her anecdote speaks to a
Early Philadelphia Pretzel-Vendor
time in which pretzels in Philadelphia were still mostly sold by venders and peddled by young boys. Today in Philadelphia the pretzel man does not exist, but instead there are pretzel factories, spread out all over the city. One can still find pretzels at food trucks and bakeries, but Philadelphia pretzel factories revolutionized the iconic snack, allowing people to get warm, fresh out the oven pretzels, anytime of the day, on a mass scale.
15TH and MARKET
Located beneath 15th and Market there is one of many pretzel factory chain stores. One day, on my way to class I stood outside the Philly Soft Pretzel Factory, attempting to interview a few people who had just purchased pretzels. During these short interviews I asked two questions, the first was to determine whether or not the person I was talking to was a native Philadelphian, and the second was to find out why they enjoyed soft pretzels. Many people really didn’t know why they liked them so much. A native named Jasmine Williams said, “I don’t know why we like them. I’ve just been eating them since I was young, they’re cheap, and they’re good.” Another person named Frederick Dawson said, “I can’t explain it, they’ve just always been here. They’re easy to get and they taste pretty good.” The customers at the pretzel factory allowed me to see that one reason pretzels were so loved was because there was a familiarity and normality about eating pretzels. This conclusion led me to research the timeline of the soft pretzel. I knew they didn’t originate in Philadelphia, but if pretzels weren’t native to Philadelphia, where did they come from?
HISTORY
French Monks and Pretiolas
The invention of the soft pretzel occurred around 610 A.D. Back then French Monks were going about their day, twisting and folding some extra bread, and before they knew it, they had created the shape of a pretzel. The monks had twisted the pretzel to look like a person with their hands folded across their chest. Back then that was the common prayer position. They named the invention pretiolas and often gave them to children as rewards for good behavior.
However, the pretzel didn’t stay in France. It eventually began to travel and it appeared in Germany as bretzel during the 1400s. In Germany, street vendors would peddle bretzels throughout the villages and this also became a custom once pretzels reached Philadelphia in the 1700’s. When the Dutch (Palatine Germans) immigrated to America they brought many German traditions with them along with a lot of German culture. The German influence that developed in Pennsylvania can be seen throughout the city. Two examples of their influence are Philadelphia’s own Germantown area and the Reading Terminal Market, which has become a unique part of Philadelphia and a tourist attraction. Once the Dutch migrated pretzels to Philadelphia, bakeries and pretzel factories began to pop up all over Philadelphia and neighboring towns in Pennsylvania.
BAKERIES and FACTORIES
The first commercialized pretzel bakery that existed in Pennsylvania was founded by a man named Julius Sturgis. It is in Lititz, Pennsylvania. There is a legend about the Sturgis family recipe that says that Sturgis got his recipe from a hobo. Then he built his bakery in 1861 and his family continues baking pretzels today.
In 1922 the Federal Pretzel Baking Company was started by the Nacchio Family. It was the first pretzel company to be built in Philadelphia. It was founded by a woman, which was rare at the time. Maria Nacchio was an Italian baker and widow who needed to use her baking skills to support her family. With the help of her children and the depth of her ambition, she purchased a property and started making pretzels. In 1930 her business went a step further and started selling pretzels to public schools.
Today the main pretzel factory that mass produces and sells pretzels in Philadelphia is called the Philly Pretzel Factory. It was founded by a man named Dan DiZio who was a native to Philadelphia. He loved pretzels and would not only eat them, but make money off of selling them. He would stand on the side of Roosevelt Boulevard and sell his 
pretzels daily. This entrepreneurial spirit later led to his establishment of the Philly Pretzel Factory franchise. His dream was to sell warm soft pretzels all day long, so he teamed up with a friend, Len Lehman, and in 1998 the Philly Pretzel Factory came to be. The establishment stuck to the tradition of hand twisting pretzels, but they did it in the figure-eight style. Now the Philly Pretzel Franchise has over 100 locations.
THE FIGURE-EIGHT
In the 1930s the Reading Pretzel Machinery Company started using automation instead of hand twisting pretzels. Thus, the creation of the figure-eight pretzel happened. They thought that the shape would be easier for the conveyor belt and help to produce more pretzels. This is now the shape that is sold all around Philadelphia. In other places around the world the original twist that was created by the French Monks is still the predominate form of pretzel, making Philadelphia’s figure-eight style unique.
THE IMPORTANCE of THE PRETZEL
When I sat outside of the Philly Pretzel Factory at 15th and Market, watching men and women filter in and out, taking their orders to go, I stared at the establishment for a while before I began my interviews. I examined the green sign above the store in big letters, the checkered green and white patterns that lined the walls, and the sign on the window that read “two pretzels and a soda for $2.75.” I reminisced my younger years, remembering all the time I spent in and out of the store, buying pretzels when I forgot to eat breakfast, or when I lacked enough money for a full lunch. I remembered back to when my teachers would bring in pretzels from Philly Pretzel Factory for class Christmas parties and I laughed at how I now bring the children I teach at my recreation centers pretzels when I want to reward them. The thought of my being like a present day French monk, giving out pretiolas to children because of good behavior, made me giggle. I never thought about how much pretzels were in my life. I was just like Ruth, Jasmine, and Frederick. I ate pretzels frequently and I loved them, but I never thought about why I loved them.
Then it hit me. Every place in the world has a signature food that was incorporated into the culture by its founders. New Orleans has Cajun cooking, Wisconsin has cheese, Philadelphia has pretzels and cheese steaks. After the food has been there so long, taste-buds are genetically made to love the food. Although pretzels can be found in other parts of America, the people will never love them as much as Philadelphians because they aren’t a part of their culture. Pretzels have been a part of Philadelphia since the city was built, therefore it is a part of every person born in Philadelphia and the people of this city will always love pretzels because they’re a part of our inheritance.
Writing Workshop Fall 2013 
Reblogged this on Like Chocolate and commented:
Look back on some of my older journalistic blogs makes me rebuild my confidence in my writing.