Wetzel’s Pretzels is working on another North Las Vegas store. The pretzel brand is already constructing a new shop in the Walmart Supercenter within the North Mesa Plaza at 1807 W Craig Rd.
With construction underway, it is anticipated to open before the end of this year.
What Now Las Vegas reached out to Wetzel’s Pretzels North Las Vegas franchisee Thomas Martin to find out more about the upcoming opening. Unfortunately, we did not hear back by the time of this publication.
“Every Wetzel’s Pretzels bakery lives by the original vision of its founders: that our super-premium pretzels are crafted from fresh dough and baked in-store throughout the day, to ensure a hot, delicious offering for each customer, regardless of when the craving for a pretzel strikes,” the Wetzel’s Pretzels website reads.
Wetzel’s Pretzels was founded in 1994 by Rick Wetzel and Bill Phelps in Redondo Beach, California. The former Nestlé executives dreamed up the concept on a bar napkin during a 1994 business trip to Seattle after seeing a busy mall pretzel shop. They used $200,000 in personal savings (with Wetzel selling his Harley-Davidson motorcycle to buy a mixer) and opened their first store at the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach. The name came after tossing around ideas and taking advice from friends to use Wetzel’s last name, adding “Pretzels” so customers knew what they sold. In 1996, they became the first pretzel chain to launch pretzel-wrapped hot dogs.
“Long lines of hungry customers soon formed, attracted by mouth-watering soft pretzels that were hand-rolled, baked fresh, and served hot from the oven,” the brand’s website reads.
“As word spread about these golden-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside pretzels, the company added additional stores to keep up with demand.”
The brand grew rapidly through franchising, reaching a hundred locations by 2001 and expanding into major entertainment spots like Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Private equity firms later acquired stakes, including Levine Leichtman Capital Partners in 2007 and CenterOak Partners in 2016. The chain surpassed 400 locations globally by its 30th anniversary in 2024, introducing alternative formats like food trucks, convenience store units, and Macy’s kiosks.
There are now more than 400 Wetzel’s Pretzels bakeries globally, with more than 370 locations across the United States and several international regions. There are at least six known Wetzel’s Pretzels locations operating in Nevada, primarily clustered around the Las Vegas Valley. The brand now has food trucks operating in the region as well.
Wetzel’s Pretzels is anticipated to open in the Walmart Supercenter within the North Mesa Plaza at 1807 W Craig Rd later this year.
(This is a developing story. As more information is made available, we will update this article. Stay tuned!)
