Franchise Focus

Former Marine turns Wetzel's Pretzels into a mall powerhouse

Tyler Dutton went from a teenage pretzel maker to a Marine and now a thriving Wetzel’s Pretzels franchise owner at the Mall of America, driven by years of hard work, vision and a deep love for the brand.

Photo: Wetzel's Pretzels

August 8, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group

Tyler Dutton was a man on a mission. He cut his teeth working in a Wetzel's Pretzels — actually several locations — all the while plotting, planning and saving to own his own franchise.

Dutton's story starts in 2006. He had just turned 16 and wanted to start working. He rode his bike to the nearby mall in Southern California and went to apply to the local Wetzel's Pretzels. He got lucky — the owners were there and interviewed Dutton on the spot.

"It was my first job, and I got to see how it was operated as a franchise. I was young, I was 16 and I didn't really understand franchise (and) corporate stores," Dutton said in a phone interview with QSRweb.com. "Seeing how the operations worked under franchised management, just to me I fell in love with it right away. I fell in love with the company of Wetzel's and the brand and the product."

He moved around to different units within the brand locally. The best part of that? Experiencing different franchisees and management styles. One store was owned by two brothers, another by a police officer, a third by a real estate agent and another by a family.

"I got to see a completely different perspective in management styles," Dutton said, "But I did know one day I would own a Wetzel's."

He started saving and picking the brains of franchisees and managers alike. He asked franchisees how they got successful and for advice, and he absorbed everything.

In 2010, he left to go join the Marine Corps, but he still maintained that vision and knew one day he would get out of the military and pursue a franchise again. Active-duty military took him away from the Wetzel's Pretzels business for eight years, but after he got out, he went right back to working for the brand.

Dutton began college and picked up where he left off as an assistant manager for Wetzel's Pretzels. He continued to save, but he began to look for the opportunity to buy a franchised Wetzel's Pretzels location. Over the next couple of years, he was promoted to general manager and eventually to a field business manager within the brand.

Dutton finally got the chance to buy his first franchise location in 2022 in Washington. He operated that location for about a year, but about six months after he took over that Wetzel's, Dutton had the opportunity to take over the Wetzel's Pretzels in Mall of America in Minnesota.

"That pretty much shifted everything. Once I got that location, I knew I had something special there," Dutton said, "and I really wanted to put all my focus and attention on that one. So, I sold my first location to an existing Wetzel's franchisee that was also in Washington."

Within the next three weeks, his second location should open in Mall of America.

"Mall of America is a really, really special mall," Dutton said. He was born in Illinois and grew up visiting the mall as a child. "I think it's really special to me to have a location at the same mall I grew up going to."

The current location Dutton has in the mall is a kiosk, but he's building a brick-and-mortar store right by the main entrance to the mall on the first floor. "It's a great location," Dutton added. "It's going to be a beautiful store."

That store has been in the works for a year, and the mall has been instrumental in helping Dutton grow, as has the Wetzel's Pretzels corporate team.

"I couldn't ask for a better experience," he said, adding that he now trains franchisees as well, consistently getting the same feedback time and time again — how professional and family oriented Wetzel's is as a brand.

Photo: Wetzel's Pretzels

On the menu

Dutton's favorite pretzel is the Jalaroni, a fresh baked cheese pretzel topped with slices of pepperoni and jalapeno. He enjoys it with the jalapeno cheese sauce and the pizza sauce, which he mixes.

Dutton said making a pretzel is like riding a bike. Everyone thinks they can make them until they start training.

"They all kind of realize it's a little bit harder than it looks," he said, "but once you pick it up, once you get it, you'll never forget it."

He also loves the fact that the brand has savory and sweet pretzels like cinnamon sugar and almond crunch. Depending on how the guest is feeling, an order could be a sweet snack or a quick meal.

The menu is also filled with specialty drinks like lemonade, boba and frozen offerings.

"Our corporate team, they're always innovating with new products that surprise me," Dutton said. Right now, the brand's current promotion highlights their mozzarella cheese stick pretzels.

Photo: Wetzel's Pretzels

Teamwork

The most rewarding aspect of owning his own franchise is operating a team. It's more than making payroll every two weeks. Dutton has about 20 staff members, and he said he's going to bulk up to 25 or 26 to get ready for the store opening.

He enjoys working with his younger staff members, remembering his own origin story with the company at 16. He trains his employees by working alongside them.

"They start asking me questions the same way I was asking my franchisees questions," Dutton said. "I love seeing it come full circle. I have a few employees I have a strong feeling will end up owning their own Wetzel's Pretzels."

Hiring at the beginning of his career was a little tough finding employees. After he found the right people on the team who shared the same vision, he said the company culture becomes contagious, and it goes both ways. If an operator has employees that are unhappy, the rest of the team will assimilate and follow suit.

"If you get the people who are motivated and they also have that same vision, goal and mindset, that will also spread," Dutton said. "It did take a few months to get it to that level, but once we did, we basically have maintained it for the last few years."

Dutton said he just hired six employees a few weeks ago and added that it's amazing how quickly they acclimated to the franchise culture. That includes suggestive selling, staying busy, cleaning, stocking and sampling products.

The Mall of America is tourist heavy, and some shoppers may not have experienced Wetzel's Pretzels before. "We might be the representative of the company," Dutton added, "and I want to make sure that everybody that comes through has that happy, pleasant experience to really see and taste what the brand is all about."

Choosing a franchise

To fledgling franchisees, Dutton advises that they do their homework and check out a brand thoroughly before signing on the dotted line.

"Know what you're getting into," he said. "Know the brand, regardless of what it is and make sure you love it. The most important thing that I've found for me is to find some people that you trust and take them with you as far as possible. Don't try to do everything on your own. You're just going to stunt your growth that way. … Find some people. Take care of them and they'll take care of you."

About Mandy Wolf Detwiler

Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.

An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.

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