The Story of Pretzel and Pizza Creations!

 

“It all starts with the DOUGH!”

 

The beginnings of Pretzel and Pizza Creations deserve to be the inspiration for Disney’s next animated feature. Natalia and Emil moved to Maryland in 1991 after a short stint in Queens, NY and started the search for their American dream. Emil found a struggling soft pretzel business (CK’s Pretzel Works) on North Market Street and began learning the trade from the original owners. Eventually, the original owners departed for warmer climates and the restaurant was sold to Emil and Natalia. After a brief renovation, the store was rebranded as “Pretzel and Pizza Creations”. Natalia started working in the restaurant and began taking more of an influential role in making Pretzel and Pizza Creations what is is today. The original owners developed their own flour recipe and only offered soft pretzels. When Natalia began working, the couple upgraded to their own, completely separate flour recipe and added calzones. Our flour recipe is a closely guarded family secret but we can tell you this - it’s made of several different types of flour and hand blended in the store. We do not make hard, Pennsylvania Dutch-style pretzels, our pretzels are traditional Bavarian (German) soft pretzels!

 

Although the pretzels and calzones were getting the word out about the Pretzel Creations, our customers truly were the catalyst for our success. Almost every new item on the menu has been inspired by our customers’ requests! In our bustling downtown setting, there are many offices and small boutique stores. Around 1997, these customers asked Natalia for cold sandwiches - inspiring our Pretzel Foccacia and Pretzel Bagels! After a lot of trial and error, these sandwiches have risen to be one of our most popular menu items!

 

Our customers have helped us in other delicious ways. In the early days of Pretzel and Pizza Creations, Natalia and her sister Afina would sit outside the restaurant and give out samples to passersby. The input from these taste testers would help build the current pretzel flavors on our menu! The same methods were used to test our pretzel pizzas and hot dog flavors. Natalia first saw the pretzel dogs at a farmer’s market and she was inspired! Natalia first experimented with just the plain hot dog wrapped in the pretzel dough. That was delicious, so she added mustard. That was even more delicious so she added provolone cheese. That was even more delicious than the others, so with a lot of trials, she developed a loyal following of customers who still come in for our original hot dogs to this day. 

 

After 17 years of developing our Pretzel Creations, one of our managers and family members, Mihai, noticed there was something seriously missing in Downtown Frederick. Late night service! After one night out on the town, Mihai was hungry. He thought, “maybe other downtown revelers are hungry now too!”. That weekend, Mihai started the late night pizza slice service that many bar goers and night owls have come to know and love. 

 

The most recent addition to our menu was inspired by some unique hot dogs managers Catie and Carlo Serio ate when they lived in New York City. Taking a cue from the original hot dog offerings on the menu, Catie and Carlo brainstormed some modern hot dogs flavors like our popular “Greek Dog” and “Spicy Dog”. 

 

We believe our customers deserve the very best and we constantly strive for pretzel perfection. Our traditional recipes are constantly being redeveloped for modern tastes. We’ve added more gluten-free and vegan options like our hummus sandwich topped with fresh spinach and avocado and several new soups and salads.

 

We hope that whether it’s your first time or 50th time, Pretzel and Pizza Creations lives up to your expectations and that you keep up with us on social media to see what we’re cooking up next!