"The pioneer of the mall pretzel was Hot Sam Pretzels, but now it's little more than a piece of nostalgic trivia. When it comes to mall pretzels, Hot Sam was the trendsetter. Founded in 1967, the chain offered mallgoers plain pretzels, ones with mustard, or sweet cinnamon sugar-covered versions for a quick snack on the go. By the 1980s, they also came with savory toppings like cheddar, nacho, or cream cheese, and sweet option additions like hot fudge and strawberries."
"Amazingly, these pretzels weren't freshly made in the store. They were pre-baked, brought in frozen, and then heated on a revolving drum. Hot Sam customers had to wait a full 16 minutes for their hot pretzel. Despite that, these pretzels were extremely popular and must have tasted incredible, since some stores were selling up to 1,000 in a single day."
"People didn't go to the mall for full meals, so a pretzel was an easy, hot snack on the go. As more competition appeared, Hot Sam began to fade from the public eye. Competition came in the form of Pretzel Time and Pretzelmaker, two chains that grew rapidly in the late 1980s and early 1990s. By 1997, both Pretzel Time and Hot Sam were acquired by cookie giant Mrs. Fields, which also purchased Pretzelmaker."
Hot Sam Pretzels launched mall pretzel kiosks in 1967, offering plain, mustard, cinnamon-sugar, and later savory and sweet-topped pretzels. The products were pre-baked, shipped frozen, and reheated on a revolving drum, requiring a 16-minute wait but still selling up to 1,000 per day at peak locations. The chain capitalized on malls where shoppers favored quick snacks over full meals. Growing competition from Pretzel Time and Pretzelmaker in the late 1980s and early 1990s eroded Hot Sam's prominence. By 1997, Hot Sam and competitors had been absorbed through acquisitions by Mrs. Fields.
Read at Tasting Table
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]