Philly Pretzel Factory Opens on Ocean City Boardwalk

The Philly Pretzel Factory celebrates its grand opening at 2 p.m. today (Saturday, June 9) with a ribbon-cutting, a balloon artist, face-painting, coupon giveaways and soft pretzels hot out of the oven.

Mayor Jay Gillian, Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Michele Gillian and Philly Pretzel Factory Co-Founder and CEO Dan DiZio — who was recently featured on the CBS hit television series "Undercover Boss" — will assist in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. 

The new franchise is located in front of at Sixth Street and Boardwalk — the first (or last) food outlet, depending on which way you're walking, on the downtown stretch of Boardwalk between Sixth and 14th streets. It takes the place of the former , which served healthy fast foods.

The Pretzel Factory features soft pretzel twists, cinnamon-sugar pretzel twists, pretzel dogs (a Dietz and Watson frank wrapped in a pretzel), frozen lemonade, iced tea and Coca-Cola products.

For Don and Brenda Moiso, the franchise owners, the new venture represents a departure from the business they owned and operated for 28 years in Ocean City: D&B Printing.

"They both start with P," Don Moiso quipped. "We tried to find a business that started with a P."

The Moisos purchased the year-round Philly Pretzel Factory franchise in Somers Point in May 2011 and sold D&B Printing in the fall ().

The Ocean City location will be seasonal and managed by Brenda Moiso (who also serves currently as president of the Ocean City Board of Education). The pretzels will be baked in Somers Point and delivered to Ocean City in a continuous loop.

The Moisos, as Ocean City residents and long-time business owners, are familiar with the swings of Ocean City's seasonal economy, and Don said friends in the restaurant business have helped them prepare for the new venture.

Philly Pretzel Factory was founded in 1998 by DiZio and his college buddy Len Lehman. They created a unique pretzel recipe, and today their creation feeds customers at more than 100 franchised locations.

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PHILLY PRETZEL FACTORY

Address: 600 Boardwalk, Ocean City
Phone: 609-391-1500
Hours: Noon until closing of Wonderland Pier (in season)
Takeout only