Philadelphia native Aidan Crofton said he grew up in a city that’s known to eat 10 times as many soft pretzels as the rest of the country.

“In Philadelphia we pretty much live on a steady diet of soft pretzels and cheesesteaks,” joked Crofton, who opened the doors to Crofton’s Pretzels on June 1, the same day he left active duty in the Marine Corps. 

Crofton, who operates the bakery with his wife, Cara, said he wanted to build a business from the ground up and figured he might as well build it around his favorite food. He spend more than two years working on the recipe for his pretzel dough in his spare time, finally perfecting the right amounts of flour, water, yeast and salt. 

Crofton’s pretzels contain no additives or preservatives, and are available in several flavors including, salted, sweet, and vanilla, chocolate and cannoli cream filled. They also offer a rotating selection of three or four savory stuffed pretzels each day with fillings such as spinach, artichoke and Parmesan; bacon, cheddar and horseradish; and crab dip. The salted and sweet pretzels are vegan, and Crofton’s also offers a gluten-free pretzel, something Aidan Crofton said is hard to come by in the world of soft pretzels. 

He said he hopes to connect with area schools and establish “Pretzel Day” a long-standing tradition he grew up with in Philadelphia.

“Pretzel Day was everyone’s favorite day of the week,” he said. “I’d love to start that tradition here in Wilmington.”

Aidan Crofton also hopes to introduce his pretzels to the community via partnerships with area breweries. His pretzels are currently available at The Sour Barn and Flying Machine Brewing Co.

Customers are invited to fill out raffle tickets for a grand opening raffle that will take place July 4, with a variety of giveaways including a catered party platter. Crofton’s Pretzels is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., though hours may change depending upon the flow of business. Daily stuffed pretzel flavors will be posted on Crofton’s social media sites, and customized catering is available. 

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