Anne F. Beiler
Encyclopedia
Anne F. Beiler is the founder of Auntie Anne's
pretzels.
Beiler was born into an Old Order Amish family in Lancaster County, PA in 1949. When she was three years of age, her parents became members of the Amish Mennonite
church. Growing up in a family of eight children, Anne was the baker and bread maker among them. When she was a teenager, she had a waitressing job that taught her about customer service. Later, she worked at a food stand at a farmers' market. It was there that she learned how to make pretzels the old-fashioned, Pennsylvania Dutch way – soft and doughy.
In 1987, Beiler started making hand-rolled pretzels at a market stand in Maryland
. She then rented a stand in February 1988 in Downingtown, PA and called it Auntie Anne's Pretzels. The pretzels they sold during the first weeks of owning their stand tasted "horrible." The Beilers decided to tweak the recipe and found success. Anne had no previous business experience and only a ninth grade education, but she had eight stand alone stores and her first Auntie Anne's Soft Pretzels store in a mall after a year. The only advertising the company had was the rave reviews from their customers. In 1989, the first Auntie Anne's franchises opened throughout Central Pennsylvania.
She is married to family counselor and author Jonas Z. Beiler and the couple have two children, LaWonna and LaVale. The couple's daughter Angela was killed in a farming accident at age 19 months in September 1975.
On May 21, 2005, Beiler received an honorary doctorate degree from Elizabethtown College
. She also holds an honorary doctorate from Eastern University
.
In 2002, Beiler wrote a story book style autobiography
entitled Auntie Anne: My Story' with illustrations by artist Frieman Stoltzfus. In 2008, Beiler penned a memoir with her nephew Shawn Smucker entitled Twist of Faith: The Story of Anne Beiler, Founder of Auntie Anne's Pretzels published by Thomas Nelson Inc.
Beiler delivered a speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention
on September 3, 2008.
Auntie Anne's
Auntie Anne's, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is an American chain of pretzel bakeries founded by Anne F. Beiler and her husband, Jonas, in 1988. Auntie Anne's serves products such as pretzels, dips, and beverages...
pretzels.
Beiler was born into an Old Order Amish family in Lancaster County, PA in 1949. When she was three years of age, her parents became members of the Amish Mennonite
Amish Mennonite
Amish Mennonites are a Christian church or constituency of Anabaptist heritage, that came into existence as a result of a division which took place in the Mennonite churches of Southern Germany, Eastern France and Switzerland in the late 17th century....
church. Growing up in a family of eight children, Anne was the baker and bread maker among them. When she was a teenager, she had a waitressing job that taught her about customer service. Later, she worked at a food stand at a farmers' market. It was there that she learned how to make pretzels the old-fashioned, Pennsylvania Dutch way – soft and doughy.
In 1987, Beiler started making hand-rolled pretzels at a market stand in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. She then rented a stand in February 1988 in Downingtown, PA and called it Auntie Anne's Pretzels. The pretzels they sold during the first weeks of owning their stand tasted "horrible." The Beilers decided to tweak the recipe and found success. Anne had no previous business experience and only a ninth grade education, but she had eight stand alone stores and her first Auntie Anne's Soft Pretzels store in a mall after a year. The only advertising the company had was the rave reviews from their customers. In 1989, the first Auntie Anne's franchises opened throughout Central Pennsylvania.
She is married to family counselor and author Jonas Z. Beiler and the couple have two children, LaWonna and LaVale. The couple's daughter Angela was killed in a farming accident at age 19 months in September 1975.
On May 21, 2005, Beiler received an honorary doctorate degree from Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College is a small comprehensive college located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. The school was founded in 1899 by members of the Church of the Brethren...
. She also holds an honorary doctorate from Eastern University
Eastern University
Eastern University is a private university in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, United States affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA, with an interdenominational student body...
.
In 2002, Beiler wrote a story book style autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
entitled Auntie Anne: My Story' with illustrations by artist Frieman Stoltzfus. In 2008, Beiler penned a memoir with her nephew Shawn Smucker entitled Twist of Faith: The Story of Anne Beiler, Founder of Auntie Anne's Pretzels published by Thomas Nelson Inc.
Beiler delivered a speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention
2008 Republican National Convention
The United States 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008...
on September 3, 2008.