We told you about the potentially game-changing machine in June.
We are so excited to announce our new rolling machine is up and running at full capacity! We are ready for large orders...
Posted by Smales Pretzel Bakery on Thursday, November 17, 2016
ORIGINAL STORY— An iconic local business is making an improvement that its fifth-generation owner hopes will increase business in a major way.
In a matter of weeks, Smales Pretzel Bakery's $35,000 pretzel making machine will be custom-built by a company in Reading, Pa.
Current owner Emma Smales said the machine will be up and running by August.
It will dramatically increase the number of hard and soft pretzels the business can produce, she said.
Emma Smales of Smales Pretzel Bakery is investing $35,000 in a new pretzel rolling machine. Photo / Amelia Robinson
Smales can now only make about 500 soft pretzels a day.
"We have gotten calls from people who want 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 pretzels," she said. "I have to say 'no.' "
ABOUT THE FAMILY BUSINESS
The business was founded by her German-born great-great grandfather Rudie Schaaf in 1895 and refined by his daughter, for whom she is named.
Emma took the family business over last year.
>> 5th generation takes over at Smales Pretzel Bakery
Her grandfather installed the current pretzel oven and rolling machine 50 years ago.
It can now only do hard pretzels and breaks down weekly.
How can the new machine be a game changer?
She predicted that the new machine will be the business' most important change since 1966, the year the current rolling machine was installed.
"If I have a more reliable machine, I can hire more people, work more days, make more pretzels," she said.
She hopes to once again be able to sell pretzels at festivals and for large events.
Emma Smales of Smales Pretzel Bakery is investing $35,000 in a new pretzel rolling machine. Photo / Amelia Robinson
Emma Smales of Smales Pretzel Bakery is investing $35,000 in a new pretzel rolling machine. Photo / Amelia Robinson
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