Although it is run today from the Focus Brand’s headquarters in Atlanta, Auntie Anne’s has managed to preserve its Pennsylvania roots that trace back to a single stand in Downingtown, writes Caity Weaver for The New York Times.

Started in the late 1980s by a young mother raised in the Amish church who was recovering from personal tragedy, Auntie Anne’s was acquired by Focus Brands in 2005.

The company’s current owner operates 6,536 franchise locations nationwide. In addition to the world’s largest hand-rolled soft pretzel franchise, it also owns and governs Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Schlotzsky’s.

All of these have been boiled down to their very essences, which are displayed all over the company’s headquarters in different colors.

The headquarters also features the test kitchens where new products are researched and designed for all but one brand, Aunt Anne’s. It still maintains its test kitchen and creative facilities in Lancaster, keeping truth in its claim that it is “a Pennsylvania-based company.”

Read more about Auntie Anne’s in The New York Times here.

[uam_ad id=”80503″]

.

[uam_ad id=”80502″]