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Bill Phelps
CEO and Co-Founder
In addition to a valuable background in marketing and sales, Bill brought a strong entrepreneurial spirit to Wetzel's Pretzels. Bill has a keen sense of finances, "street smarts" for identifying good opportunities and a flair for working calmly through difficult situations. Bill says it’s our entrepreneurial style and tenacity that have made our company and its franchise stores successful.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Jalapeño Cheese Wetzel Dog and Frozen Lemonade
Rick Wetzel
Co-Founder
Following a career marketing Nestle food products, Rick teamed up with co-worker Bill Phelps to start Wetzel’s Pretzels. Rick enjoys working on marketing promotions and helping with strategic initiatives. Rick’s vision for the company is for it to become a cult snack-food brand.
Favorite pretzel:
Sinful Cinnamon
Don Wells
VP Finance
Another Nestle alum, Don Wells brings over 25 years of financial experience to Wetzel’s Pretzels. Don loves working with franchisees to help them understand and improve the financial performance of their stores.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Jalapeño Cheese Wetzel Dog and Frozen Lemonade
Anthony Parete
EVP Development
Anthony is a long-term veteran of the franchise world, including Wicks N Sticks and Swensen’s Ice Cream. The path to franchise ownership at Wetzel’s Pretzels generally begins with Anthony.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Original Wetzel’s Pretzel
Vincent Montanelli
Sr. Vice President of Operations
Vincent "rolled" in as the Sr. VP of Operations in 2004 bringing with him many years of experience in the QSR industry. Vincent has worked with McDonald’s, Baskin Robbins and the Jamba Juice brands. Vincent leads the operations team and is committed to "brand ownership".
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Cheese Meltdown Baked Cheese Pretzel
Martha Lares
Director of Construction
Martha joined our corporate staff in 2004, bringing with her many years of experience working for the Disney Stores in their Property Development Department. Martha is responsible for guiding our franchisees through store design and construction.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Almond Crunch Pretzel with Caramel Dip
Liz Dutchess
Director of Real Estate
Liz supports the real estate department and works with franchisees to find new sites. Besides a great personality, Liz has lots of mall experience she gained while working at the Disney Store’s corporate office.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Jalapeño Cheese Melt
Cece Medrano
Director of Real Estate
Cece joined our team in August of 2006 and is one of the key players in our Real Estate Development Department. She brings with her extensive experience in retail operations and development.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Jalaroni Baked Cheese Pretzel with Pizza Sauce
Cyndi Tang
Franchise Coordinator
Cyndi supports the Franchise Sales & Construction Department. She is responsible for facilitating the administrative processes for the leasing and construction teams.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Cin-A-Yum Pretzel
Christina Diaz
Logistics Manager
Christina joined the Operations team in 2007 as Logistics Manager, bringing her many years of experience in sales and analysis working with Countrywide Financial Corporation. Christina is the link between our corporate office and our franchise community.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Grateful Garlic Pretzel with Pizza Sauce
Cathy Sato
Bookkeeper
Cathy runs the bookkeeping department and works with the franchisees to keep the funds flowing smoothly.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Wetzel Dog
Elaine Delgado
Administrative Assistant
Elaine is the "Smiling Face" that greets our visitors at the corporate headquarters. In addition to her clerical duties, Elaine mails out all the items ordered from us by our franchisees.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Sinful Cinnamon Pretzel
Don Braxton
Director of Field Operations, Midwest
We call Don the "Pretzel Guru". Don was the first person hired by Rick & Bill and today he knows more about pretzels (and pretzel stores) than probably anyone else in the world.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Pepperoni Twist Baked Cheese Pretzel
Gary Thomas
Director of Field
Operations, West Coast
Gary has over 20 years foodservice experience and has been with Wetzel’s Pretzels for over five years. In addition to working with franchise owners, Gary has the tough assignment of serving the Laker Girls before home games.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Original Wetzel’s Pretzel
Dave Braxton
Director of Field
Operations, East Coast
Dave is our "can do" guy who has responsibility for the East coast franchise stores. In addition to being great with franchise owners, Dave is an expert in outrunning an alligator (run in a zig zag!).
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Jalapeño Cheese Wetzel Dog and Frozen Lemonade
Mark Luers
Director of Field
Operations, Northwest
Mark began his career with Wetzel’s working at our Downtown Disney location in Disney World. He is responsible for assisting our franchisees in the Northwest and Texas. Mark has lived all over the world and is very knowledgeable about the customs of many cultures.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Jalapeño Cheese Wetzel Dog and Frozen Lemonade
Paul Shah
Director of Field
Operations, Southwest
Paul joined Wetzel’s Pretzels in January 2006. As a District Manager, he is responsible for assisting and partnering with the franchisees all over Southern California. Paul is also part of our new store owner training program at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, CA. Along with his positive attitude, he brings with him over 12 years of foodservice experience that he gained from working with Taco Bell and Rubio’s.
Favorite Wetzel’s Pretzels Menu Items:
Jalapeño Cheese Melt with Jalapeño Cheese Dip
