Lebanon Philly Pretzel Factory contractor fired; work resumes
"We had to fire our contractor, and it sort of put things into a tizzy, and then we had to fire our blueprint guy," said one of the co-owners. "The contractor was incompetent. It was a friend of a friend kind of thing. The blueprint guy was a scam artist."
It's several months behind schedule, but work is finally progressing on a new Philly Pretzel Factory in front of the Lebanon Valley Mall.
The store's owners, who also own the Philly Pretzel Factory inside the Lebanon Walmart, had originally hoped to open by July 4.
The delay was caused when the owners had to find a new contractor and a new architect, said Steve Zappasodi, one of five co-owners.
"We had to fire our contractor, and it sort of put things into a tizzy, and then we had to fire our blueprint guy," he said. "The contractor was incompetent. It was a friend of a friend kind of thing. The blueprint guy was a scam artist. We're trying to recoup some money because they never gave us anything."
He does not have an exact date, but Zappasodi said Wednesday that he hopes to open the store in six to eight weeks.
"Everything is still the same," Zappasodi said. "We're just trying to get everything done."
The store, which is located at 2213 Cumberland St. in North Lebanon Township, will be bigger and offer more menu items than the Walmart store.
Once open, the store's menu will have around 20 items, compared to the Walmart location, which only has four. In addition to regular soft pretzels, the new store will also offer pepperoni pretzels, jalapeno pretzels and cheesesteak pretzels -- soft pretzels stuffed with grilled steak and melted cheese.
The building in which the store is located most recently housed a veterinary clinic but has been vacant for several years.
A new roof has already been put on the building, and plans call for a drive-thru.
Work is now in full swing, Zappasodi said, noting that new plumbing was recently installed.
"Hopefully it all starts coming together in the next couple weeks," he said.
Founded in Philadelphia in 1998, Philly Pretzel Factory now has more than 130 locations in nine states. More information can be found on the company's website, www.phillysoftpretzelfactory.com.
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