Philly Pretzel Celebrates First Brooklyn Spot With Free Samples

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Brooklynites won't have to wait any longer to try a new kind of soft pretzel.

Philly Pretzel Factory, a chain of Pennsylvania-style pretzels, is officially opening its first Brooklyn location on Thursday, along with free samples for those who stop by.

The soft opening, starting up at 9 a.m., comes after months of preparing their 131 Fifth Ave. storefront, and even battling with National Grid to get their gas turned back on in time for opening.

The pretzel makers first revealed that they would be moving to the borough over the summer.

The pretzel shop will not only be the chain's first location in Brooklyn, but will be one of only two in New York City.

It offers a distinct kind of the salty snack that, according to Philadelphians, is the only way to eat it. Philly soft pretzels are doughier than the typical NYC pretzel and are weaved into a tight figure eight rather than into larger shape pretzels from city street carts or ballpark stands.

The Park Slope pretzel shop will likely not be the last for the chain in New York City, though.

Philly Pretzel Factory was planning two locations in Manhattan last year, one in Harlem and one in Tribeca, and will franchise nearly two dozen more New York outposts after that, Eater reported last summer.

Philly Pretzel Factory has been around for just over 20 years and has more than 150 locations across the country. Its Manhattan and Brooklyn locations join several others across Long Island and elsewhere in the tri-state area.

The signature figure eight is thought to have come from the Federal Baking Company in South Philadelphia, which was opened by Italian immigrants in the 1920s, Eater reported. The business developed the shape to streamline the baking process. It has since been renamed the Federal Pretzel Baking Company.

The Fifth Avenue location was previously a laundromat, which, according to commenters on the Park Slope Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District's post about the new shop, had been around for quite some time before closing.