By Julie Huss
jhuss@derrynews.com
—
DERRY — Flowers meet pretzels in downtown Derry's newest business venture.
Backmann Florist owners Tom and Mary Hankins have put a new twist on their homegrown floral business and now offer "The Twisted Pretzel" in their shop at 15 West Broadway.
Under the guidance of Mary Hankins' son, Jeff Hollingworth, pretzels are formed by hand and baked right on site.
Hollingworth said taking on the pretzel world was not difficult. With experience working in pizza restaurants, pretzels are fun and relatively easy, he said.
It's something everyone likes, he said, especially his family.
"Tom (Hankins) grew up in New Jersey and (told me) he would go to nearby Philadelphia and see the pretzel shops," Hollingworth said.
This lifelong love of pretzels and a desire to do something new gave the family the push to perfect a pretzel formula for the new business.
Hankins recalled his early years growing up near urban pretzel vendors and businesses. As a college student, he said, the pretzels kept coming as his mother would send him care packages filled with his favorite regional brand.
For the past several months, the family has worked on getting the pretzel shop up and running, deciding to merge the florist shop and the snack area for an added twist.
Hollingworth said once the Pinkerton Academy football season gets underway, he hopes to market his new business at games.
In addition to freshly baked pretzels, The Twisted Pretzel offers pretzel dogs, sausage pretzels, specialty pretzel flavors, root beer floats and milkshakes.
Hankins said having a pretzel business is fun and brings back a lot of memories.
"We're pleased with the reception so far," he said. "People are trying it."
• • •
Join the discussion. To comment on stories and see what others are saying, log on to derrynews.com.
