Independent Operators
It’s a sister affair for a California Wetzel’s Pretzels food truck
Peyton and Paige Geyser, sisters in Orange County, California, are owners and operators of a Wetzel’s Pretzels food truck and were longtime fans of the brand well before they hit the road.
June 19, 2023 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com
Peyton and Paige Geyser, sisters in Orange County, California and the owner/operators of a Wetzel's Pretzels food truck, were longtime fans of the pretzel brand well before they launched their mobile bakery enterprise.
Peyton, 24, joined Wetzel's as a team member when she was 16 years old and worked at the Ontario Mills corporate location until heading to college at UC Irvine. During the summers of 2018 and 2019 she worked as a marketing intern at Wetzel's headquarters and in October 2021 was hired as a marketing manager.
Paige boasts a very similar journey with Wetzel's as the 23-year-old also joined the Ontario Mills location as a team member at the age of 16. She then advanced through management roles and now serves as general manager of the Wetzel's store inside the Macy's location at South Coast Plaza.
Now the sisters are owners and operators of their own Wetzel's food truck enterprise as well.
The brand, founded in 1994 by Bill Phelps and Rick Wetzel in Pasadena, California, serves pretzels that are hand-rolled and baked fresh. The company has grown to more than 370 bakeries in spots like Disney Springs at Walt Disney World. Its mobile fleet features 18 trucks with 17 more in development. In May, as QSRWeb reported, the brand appointed Vincent Montanelli to the role of COO. The Geyser sisters' food truck can be found in key tourist attractions and scenic beaches in the southern Orange County area.
Catching food truck fever
The idea to launch a Wetzel's food truck took root when Paige worked the Wetzel's food truck at the 2022 Rose Parade Float Fest held on New Year's Day.
"The experience allowed me to see some of the operations of running a food truck, and from there I was inspired to make it happen," Paige told FoodTruckOperator in an email interview. "We were excited by the long lines of guests eagerly waiting to get their hot, fresh pretzels and were eager at the opportunity to have a food truck of our own."
The sister duo is enthralled with the opportunity to bring pretzels "to the people" from just about anywhere.
"We can pick where we are going to park each day, so it keeps the business interesting, fun and fresh," Peyton said in an email interview.
"In addition, we also love the opportunity to be part of community events and we love seeing the astonished faces when guests see our truck — we truly get to make people's day," said Paige.
Sibling love proves valuable
Both sisters work in their corporate roles as well as run the truck, and can be found on the truck in the evenings and weekends.
"We have help on the truck as well. Our mom and a couple of friends work on the truck from time to time," said Peyton.
The siblings said they've always been very close and have spent most of their free time with each other and have even shared the same friends.
"Working together has been a breeze and we truly work well together because we have strengths in different areas that contribute to the success of the truck," said Paige.
When it comes to business roles, Peyton leads social media, community outreach and overall customer experience given her marketing background. She's often in the cashier role and interacting with customers.
Paige handles most of the back-end operations, from placing orders to coordinating permits as well as rolling and baking.
Hurdling challenges
Like any business operation there are challenges running a food truck. One of the biggest, according to the young entrepreneurs, is attaining the right permitting for locations and that can mean more than just filling out a form or making a call.
"For example, in some locations, you need to talk to the event coordinator, property manager, the city and health department all before you can park there. It definitely requires more research and permitting than a typical brick and mortar," said Paige.
But those challenges clearly aren't a deterrent to the Geyser sisters. There are plans to open a family-operated location in Walmart by the end of summer and operating a food truck has brought more than a few business lessons.
"We definitely suggest assigning tasks to each family member based off their strengths. This allows for each family member to have ownership over their tasks while also keeping the highest level of efficiency," said Peyton.
"Overall, we highly recommend working together as a family — we have created so many memories together in the first few months of owning the truck, and we know that there are so many more moments down the road that we will never forget. We are so thankful for this experience," said Paige.
About Judy Mottl
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