Auntie Anne's Opens Its 1000th Location in Fresno

Lancaster, Pa. (June 4, 2009) – Auntie Anne’s, the world’s largest hand-rolled soft pretzel chain, will reach the achievement of its 1000th store with the official opening celebration of Fashion Fair Mall in Fresno, Ca. this Saturday, June 6.  The grand opening celebration will feature a Free Pretzel Day from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and interactive pretzel activities. The mall location operates under the leadership of Pat Costner, a California native and franchisee with two other Auntie Anne’s stores in the south central San Joaquin Valley.

Costner joined the system in 1994 as the store manager of a San Joaquin Valley company-owned store. Three months later, Costner began managing a second company-owned store in the area. In May 1997, Auntie Anne’s offered these two locations for purchase to Pat and her husband, Kevin.  Since that time, the Costner’s have recognized that Fresno, recently named the fifth largest city in California, was an untapped market for the soft pretzel industry. 

“We’re pleased that Pat and Kevin Costner are achieving their business growth goals and seizing the opportunity to introduce our signature pretzel products to the Fresno market. As the 1,000th store for our system, this is an exciting milestone for all of us,” said Samuel Beiler, President and CEO of Auntie Anne’s, Inc.

Costner is one of over 300 franchisees within the Auntie Anne’s system, which has been named a World-Class Franchise® for the past three years by FranSurvey®.  In an anonymous survey, 95 percent of current Auntie Anne’s franchisees indicated they would recommend the soft pretzel chain to a potential franchisee. A 98 percent score was given to the overall quality of Auntie Anne’s as a franchisor and a 99 percent grade was earned on the quality of initial training.

About Auntie Anne’s

An award-winning franchise system, Auntie Anne’s is consistently ranked number one in the category of hand-rolled soft pretzels by Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 and has received the “Best in Food Category” for Franchise Business Review’s 2009 Franchisee Satisfaction Awards. The foundations of Auntie Anne's success lie in the collaborative partnership between the franchisor and franchisees and a targeted growth strategy focused on the best locations and partners. Auntie Anne's continues to look for qualified partners from around the world to grow with the company. For more information, visit www.auntieannesfranchising.com.

###