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One bite of a fresh, hot, hand-rolled soft pretzel, and RayMcConnell was sold. The salesman had never expected a simpleafternoon excursion to the mall to turn into a major careermove.
In 1992, when his friend Charlie Bauer suggested McConnell gowith him to visit the then-unknown Auntie Anne's franchise inwhich Bauer was thinking about investing, McConnell was more thanskeptical.
"I couldn't see making a living selling pretzels,"recalls McConnell, now 37. But the never-ending line at the pretzelcounter was enough to change his mind. With flavors likeGlazin' Raisin, Parmesan Herb and Cinnamon/Sugar, pretzelsnacking was on the rise. Before he knew it, McConnell and Bauerwere opening their first Auntie Anne's franchise in NewPhiladelphia, Ohio.
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