Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery
219 E Main St, Lititz, PA, 17543
Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Lititz for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
219 E Main St
Lititz, PA, 17543 - Phone (717) 626-4354
- Website https://www.juliussturgis.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :9:00 am - 5:00pm
Specialities
- Delivery : No
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Parking : Street, Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
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Matthew M.
Stopped by along our way from Hershey to Strasburg. Pretty interesting tour and history of the pretzel. The tour was short, but they give you a chance to role a pretzel (can't eat it) and show you the old ovens. The rolling pretzel part was ok for kids, but as you might imagine the history part isn't of much interest. Plan about 30 minutes. If I had to do it over again and there was a wait for the tour to start, I'd skip the tour and just get a soft pretzel and/or hard pretzels covered in chocolate. Lititz is a cute town as well.
(3)Virginia Y.
I'm not a huge pretzel person but when in Lancaster what is there to do, am I right? I skipped on the tour cause of time restrain. I had one of the pretzels, it was eh. Kind of mediocre. I prefer Auntie Anne's over this. The pretzel was soft though but not much flavor. They have a huge selection of pretzels here. Soft and hard ones, crackers, cinnamon and cheese. Relatively cheap too. If you're a pretzel fanatic this is the perfect place to be, they also show you how to make pretzels during the tour.
(3)Ken N.
The store is free to walk in if you want to buy soft or bags of hard pretzels, Also have some shirts and other such things for sale. Both types of pretzels are average. The fun part is taking the tour , which does cost money. There you will learn how to make pretzels hands on, though they are not for consumption just for demonstration. You also learn how pretzels were made in the past and how they are now made. I would not drive out of my way, but if you are close it is worth the visit.
(3)Kari W.
Visited on Friday 4-11 We didn't take the tour, stopped to pick up some road trip snacks and get a couple photos. The fresh soft pretzels were yummy. My mom had a chocolate dipped rod while I got the fresh soft, outside I had mom hold my pretzel so I could snap a quick photo~she ate my pretzel! I had to go back in to get a couple more :)
(4)Hannah H.
I really enjoyed visiting the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery. Founded back in 1861, this place is the first commercial pretzel bakery in the U.S.! When you visit, you can take a tour of the original bakery (which I highly recommend!) and get a hands-on lesson in pretzel twisting (!!!), or just visit their retail shop. You purchase your admission tickets in the retail section ($3.50 per adult), and then the tour starts at 9:30AM, and at every half-hour after that. Our tour guide was Kevin, and he was HILARIOUS - he gave a great informative overview on the history of pretzels, demonstrated the baking equipment, showed us different methods of making pretzels with a piece of dough (we each even received a certificate AHAHAHAAHA), and then also received a bag of hard pretzels at the end. He made it interactive by asking us trivia questions and such - I had a great time! Taking pictures was highly encourage, but no videotaping was allowed. You can then check out their retail shop to purchase souvenirs and such; we purchased their housemade soft pretzel that was freshly-made (packets of mustard are available by the cashier) that was only a $1 - these had a slight crispy exterior and it was very delicious! Don't forget to take a picture with the giant pretzel structure outside of the place! A cute place to stop by if you're in the Lancaster area :D +bakery tour :D +ask for Kevin :D +housemade soft pretzels - $1 +plenty of free parking on Main
(5)Steven P.
True, the tour takes you through a room without air conditioning, but we were there on a very warm July day and it was still tolerable. Super cheap, $3.50 a person for the 25 minute tour. Worth a short stop, but don't come expecting to see a huge production. For historical purposes, it's a good stop.
(3)Christopher C.
The majority of things here have been covered ad nauseam so allow me to cover the pertinent things only: * The admission price for the tour is dirt cheap and they do accept credit for it. * The tour itself is twenty to thirty minutes and as mentioned by me prior there is no climate control in the tour area so in the winter it will be cool/cold and in the summer you will bake like a pretzel because it gets hot as hell. * If you come on weekdays during the offseason chances are they will not have any soft pretzels available by the afternoon as only so many are made. On the Monday we went in February we took what would have been the second last tour of the day and according to the girl at the register they had been out of soft pretzels for hours. Maybe they didn't make many or maybe a bus came earlier, who knows? I've been here three times and have yet to see one of the infamous soft pretzels. * This place is located in Lititz, not in Lancaster. * No hard pretzels are made in Lititz. Everything has been made in Shillington (Reading) since the '20s and in their current building on Lancaster Pike since 1970. The tour is not unique in that there are other places to twist pretzels at locally but, what is unique is that only one tour can put you in the place where the hard pretzel began in LItitz and that's here. Is it the most interesting tour? No, but it's cheap fun that's well worth it.
(5)Vanessa W.
I went to this place as a kid, and was happy to see on my recent visit not much as changed. The tour is a little cheesy, but interesting and not too long which makes it a great kid option. You also get to roll your own pretzel with some fake dough to see how they are made, and get a cute certificate that says so. Not bad for only a few dollars. These hard pretzels have a unique smokey, sort of burnt quality that I'm not the biggest fan of, but my hubs really digs. They make a nice soft pretzel though and they are available for only $1. Made fresh daily they are a huge improvement over the frozen kind most are used to.
(4)Pete S.
This place is really small. Mostly bags of pretzels. We did splurge and got a soft pretzel. It was good. They do have a tour but we didn't do it.
(3)Maureen M.
Being soft pretzel lovers my mom and I were really looking forward to visiting the Julius Sturgis bakery. We signed up for a tour and patiently waited our turn. Ugh not exactly the tour we were hoping for. Our guide was some young kid who was a bit pompous and kept telling everyone to keep the volume level down and silence cell phones. Puh-lease! They also let too many people in with each group so it was pretty cramped. After 15 minutes we were all done and got a bag of hard pretzels. I would have preferred a soft pretzel. Next up was the gift shop. My mom and I each got a t-shirt and picked up some hard pretzels. We were expecting a huge selection of soft pretzels but there were only 2 sad looking pretzels in a warmer next to the register. We probably would have done better at Target. The highlight of this trip was the t-shirts and making a pretzel out of playdough. Not sure if I'd come back. Prices were fair but I wish there was a better soft pretzel selection.
(2)Sofya K.
Took the pretzel making tour, and was not overly impressed. The majority of the tour was in an area that was stifling hot. There were no ovens on so not sure why, had to walk away and sit down. The gentleman who led the tour was really good, he controlled the group and was very energetic and informative. But I didn't like his style of speaking to the group, but that may just be me.
(2)L K.
Soft pretzels were decent. They were only $1 and the dutch country website offers a coupon for 2 for 1, so ours were only $0.50 each. We did not take the tour because we had our dogs with us, so I can only comment on the shop and pretzels.
(3)Attila H.
Very nice people and a great history lesson in the founding of the pretzel. Highly recommend the tour of the oldest and 1st American pretzel factory. Oh and they make awesome pretzels too.
(5)Brad C.
This is a fun time and a nice deal. The tour is interesting and you get some hands-on time with dough. People who don't have fun on a tour like this are people you don't really want to hang out with anyway.
(4)Kevin B.
Fun little place! It was the first commercial pretzel bakery in the US and it's neat to see. The bakery is no longer functional (save for making soft pretzels for sale in the gift shop) and the main factory (located in Reading) goes by the name of Tom Sturgis Pretzels now. The tour is cheap ($3) and well worth your time. The gift shop sells cheap bags of hard pretzels (a welcome site since most gift shops charge well above what you would pay in a grocery store) and fresh soft pretzels that are really good. Definitely a nice place to stop in if you're in Lititz!
(4)J.J. B.
Visited here on 7-22-2013 & am just now getting to write a review. It's a quaint little place in a quaint little Pennsylvania town. My main reason for visiting this part of PA was to visit/see pretzel factories & naturally, this one was on my list. We took the $3 (or so, can't recall the exact price) tour which consisted of pretzel lore & how to fashion a pretzel out of dough. It was interesting to see the old brick ovens (no longer in use). The main part of the place is reserved for pretzel goods. They gave us a small bag of pretzels for free at the end of the tour. I had a coupon from a local tourist guide which got me 2 soft pretzels for the price of one. I have to admit, the soft pretzels were very good - much better than the ones at the Intercourse Pretzel Factory. The Linden Hall School across the street has beautiful architecture & was an unexpected nice bonus to see.
(4)Zach L.
Awesome soft pretzels! Fresh baked, just the right amount of salt, and the price is excellent. If you are tall, be careful walking in. The door is short.
(4)Lana A.
This place rates just 2 stars in my book. The overcrowded tour ($3) isn't worth even that much (the free diorama is better) and the bags of pretzels turned out to be not such a good deal, either, as both types we bought were extremely dry and burnt tasting. Apparently, quality control isn't a real priority here. A popular place for tourists because of the novelty and that's about it. I certainly would never buy any of their pretzels again.
(2)Monique H.
Just don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. It's a small place, for $3 you get a short tour that tells you a little about pretzels and then you get to play with dough at the end.
(3)K K.
This is where the hard pretzel was invented. RESPECT! For a mere $3, you get a short tour of a 1750s home that also served double-duty as the first ever hard pretzel bakery in the world. Did you know that prior to 1861 all pretzels were soft pretzels? Or that back in the day, if you baked a soft pretzel too long it turned hard, and was considered a "mistake" and simply thrown out? Neither did I, but it's a fascinating tale, and well worth the 3 bucks you lay down. In just a few moments, the entire 500+ year history of the pretzel becomes clear, and you even learn how to quickly "twist" a pretzel from dough in hands on fashion.
(4)Dan R.
We visited the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery a few weeks ago, and the visit was well worth it. There is a short 20 minute tour for 3 dollars where they explain the history of the pretzel, how it arrived here etc. Free soft pretzel at the end of he tour. This bakery was founded in 1861 and one of the sons Tom Sturgis moved his operation to Reading. There is also a small shop and an area with brochures, maps, coupons and pamphlets on the Lancaster Area.
(4)John L.
Interesting place but the tour was NOT worth the money. Nice but very small store. Had a very historic, nostalgic feel to it. They play it up by adding other antique stuff. The entire general area that the public has access to (without the tour) and of any interest is about 300 square feet. There are 2 small adjoining rooms on one side where they sell the pretzels. The other side is where you wait for the tour. THAT's IT. If you have to wait for the tour, bring something to do because it takes 5 minutes to browse the selections and then ... (crickets chirping). There's also not much to do outside or any other interesting stores in the immediate vicinity. The tour was a waste of time. Worst, you had to PAY for it...even the kids. They take you to the back room. You play with dough, look at some old ovens, get a history lesson and that's it. Only a ONE ROOM TOUR. I guess to make up for the brevity of the tour, they give you a small complimentary bag of pretzels. So, if you do the math, you just paid $3 for a small bag of pretzels. The history lesson was interesting but they could have easily just typed it up, put it on the wall and people could have read it for free. As for playing with dough ... I prefer it in my pocket. The pretzels themselves were ... pretzels. The plain ones were like any other pretzels you had. The only redeeming quality of this place is that they have samples of various other unique pretzels they make and some were delish. The Cinnamon one was excellent and I bought a bag to go. Also bought a fresh warm soft pretzel which was also excellent. Overall, skip the tour, try the samples, buy a bag or 2 if you like and if your kids want to play with dough ... remind them of the play-dough they have at home that they don't play with.
(2)Eisha V.
It was a cute little place. Not bad for parking either. I enjoyed learning about pretzels and how they make it. Even got to learn how to roll the pretzels into their shapes.
(4)TJ W.
I now have the field experience to pursue a career at Auntie Anne's.
(3)Ray S.
Took the family here to kill some time. Only a short drive from where we are staying in Lancaster. Well worth the drive. For 5 of us to take the tour cost 14.50 . The tour lasted about 20 minutes. The staff is very friendly and courteous. Everyone got to roll there dough and learn how to twist pretzel, kids liked this. All though the front of the building is air conditioned, where the tour goes is not. We were glad we stopped.
(5)Arlene M.
I don't come here often but when I do I usually buy pretzels. I couldn't get into the tour due to time constraints but had taken it previously. Basically they teach you the history of the pretzel, allow you to roll one up, and show you how they are made. They sell soft pretzels for $1.00 but they are no different that those you'd find anywhere. They sell Tee shirts and other small gifts but their focus is on the pretzels. They have different varieties some of which appear like an Amish horse and buggy or cheesy ones in addition to those I'm familiar with. You can purchase them in bags or in tins or in large boxes if you want them for a long time. I asked for a variety that I normally don't see in the grocery store and was directed to crunchzels. The name is exactly what they mean. They crunch when you bite into them and are very good. I picked up a box for myself and for a friend along with some chocolate covered pretzels for my daughter. I don't often get to Lititz but when I do I try to stop here just to buy pretzels.
(3)Samantha P.
My seven year old daughter and I did a girls' trip to Lancaster and took the drive to Lititz to do this. It cost $3.50 for adults and $2.50 for kids. The tour was interesting and had some hands on aspects that kids like. At the end of the tour everyone gets a bag of pretzels shaped like horse and buggies. It was worth the time and money. They didn't have any soft pretzels when we were there, maybe it was too late in the day. I was happy to see a chip clip magnet with the name and logo was only $1.00. I like to pick up inexpensive souvenirs, but sometimes things are so overpriced. I recommend stopping by if you are in the area, but check their website because they close kind of early and the last tour is at 3:30 PM.
(4)Corey L.
The tour isn't bad, the factory is set up much like it was originally and the tour focuses on how pretzels were made back in the day. Our tour guide was knowledgeable, but a little obnoxious. We learned how to roll and fold a pretzel with playdoh. Which didn't taste good - don't eat it! The gift shop was full of all kinds of deliciousness for good prices. That is a good reason to visit alone. BOOM!
(3)Aaron M.
We didn't do the tour because there was already a huge crowd of people waiting to do it. So, instead, my friend and I looked around a little bit and headed for the gift shop. It was a small gift shop. The pretzels were cheap. A bag of pretzels manufacturer price was 2.99 but was on sale for only $1.00. We got soft pretzels and some bags of hard pretzels, took a picture with the pretzel outside (almost seems to want to fall over when you lean on it), and explored the rest of the town. It was a lot of fun! The pretzel bakery itself isn't an AMAZING place, but for what it is, it's a fun little stop.
(4)Otis M.
1 star for the $3 "Factory Tour", which lasts under 15 minutes and chiefly informs you that their pretzels are now manufactured somewhere else. 5 stars for the notion of taking a free look at the historical photos and the miniature animatronic diorama of pretzel bakers, then buying a fresh hot pretzel and munching it as you stroll around the quaint sidewalks of historic Lititz. Net, 3 stars.
(3)Denis A.
This really COULD be an awesome place. We did the tour. You are allowed to roll a piece of dough to make your own pretzel. Then after you diligently roll the dough and make your pretzel - there's a surprise - it's not REAL - it's PLAY DOH! WTF!!! So they take it away from you so the next group can use it! What a bummer! You get a certificate and can look at the non-working ovens and that's all folks. Such a disappointing tour! HERE'S A NOVEL IDEA: Give people real dough and have them make their own pretzels! Ok, don't do it in the oven that they used 20 years ago for whatever reasons you have - I am sure that soft pretzels will probably bake just fine in a convection or some 21st century equivalent commercial oven that is insulated and doesn't heat to a million degrees!
(1)DJ M.
I'm not going to bore you with the lengthy history of how this is the oldest commercial pretzel factory in America by mentioning the following: The "house" was built in 1784 and is one of the oldest structures still standing in Lititz, Pa. Built using stones dug up from the road and timber from the woods, tall wooden doors are throughout with leather strapped door hinges and beautiful woodwork, planked and pegged hardwood floors. The home had musket firing windows in the cellar to ward off attacks from Native Americans, the building is on the National register of historic places. In 1850, Julius Sturgis ran a bread bakery in Lititz, Pennsylvania and as legend has it a hobo hitched a ride on a train looking for a job, Julius could not offer him work, but did invite him to sit down with his wife and fourteen children for dinner. In exchange for this kindness the hobo offered Julius a pretzel recipe. Julius who had never made pretzels decided to bake some up and tested them on his family. Eleven years later Julius stopped baking bread and devoted his business to baking pretzels. See why you should be kind! In those days, world wide, pretzels were always served soft, but one day a baker had fallen asleep and left the pretzels to bake and dry out too long and the hard pretzel was born and right here in this factory. Generations of the Sturgis family has survived to keep baking these pretzels, during the second world war they found themselves having to close. Tom Sturgis reopened a factory in Reading, Pa., and to this day it is still in operation as well as running the store and museum in Lititz. I love stories like this and the tour is so informative, you will be involved in rolling out dough and forming it into the infamous prayer knot, depicting children in prayer with their arms folded over their heart. The pretzel is the worlds oldest treat and was given to children as a reward for saying their prayers. Some have said in their reviews that they skipped the tour or it was boring and I assure you it is anything but. Did you know they used to use lye in pretzel baking and the hot temperatures the factory would reach with the brick ovens being on all day would be unbearable? For over 150 years this family has been baking pretzels and all because of the kindness that one man showed to another human being. The shop is on the smaller side and most of the building houses the museum. Today pretzels are made by machine but for 10 cents an hour it was a strenuous and hard task to make the dough and then sustain the heat. When leaving the tour you will get a mini bag of Tom Sturgis pretzels along with your certificate for successfully rolling out pretzel dough and forming it into the knot. Admission for the tour $3.00 adults, $2.00 children. Wheelchair accessible. The shop offers free samples, the jalapeno cheese pretzels were my favorite, although I could not pass up a warm soft pretzel that they bake right there. It's kind of amazing how simple things in life are taken for granted, I will never forget the ultra cool story and history lesson that I learned here. Now pass the mustard!
(4)Wendy M.
Might have been better if I was a fan of bland soft pretzels sold by twelve year olds. Stopped by this place because apparently it's the oldest pretzel making facility in the US. So it had to be awesome right? ...There's something to be said when the only reason you find this place at all is because the GPS announces very loudly that you've reached your destination. We saw the giant pretzel in the doorway and assumed this had to be it. We walk through the door and there's two kids manning the cash register, the oldest one probably around fourteen. It's cute, and I'm all for introducing children to the value of money...but shouldn't there be at least one adult somewhere in the store that isn't a customer, and isn't me? Anyway, we walk around the store, which sells bags of hard pretzels in different flavors. Nothing too exotic though, and nothing you wouldn't find at your local supermarket. Prices were pretty good, such as $1.50 for a pound bag of whole wheat pretzels. Too bad that's not exactly what I came to Lititz for. Since it was around 5 PM, there were no pretzel factory tours going on. We paid $1 for a bland soft pretzel from the kids and left. Not memorable at all, just another pretzel store. And the pretzels for sale at the store definitely were not hand made.
(3)Jackie T.
Although we didn't do the official tour, we enjoyed our visit to Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery. They had some pretzel varieties out for sampling which was nice since we had never tried theirs before. We ended up getting the cheese pretzels, original pretzels, honey mustard pretzels and chocolate covered pretzel goodness. The chocolate was to die for so give it a try. We also devoured the honey mustard and original pretzels as well. The cheese ones weren't exactly what I was expecting though. I would say that this is worth a stop if you're in the area (it's really close to the Wilbur chocolate store).
(3)Russell F.
This is what is commonly referred to as a "tourist trap". It's not factory. Their pretzels are made in a modern industrial building that has nothing to do with this venue. You pay $3 to "tour" a small home that, according the hosts, was the original factory. The tour is hot, short and frankly, pointless. The "tour" includes a brief time where you make a pretzel with disposable dough. The real point is to shove you into the gift shop where you will hopefully buy some of their industrially made product. And as pretzels go, there are many better choices available at any local grocery store. Walk right past this quaint little 18th century home knowing that you've saved time, money and your dignity.
(1)Susan A.
Decent historical tour of the Julius Sturgis Pretzel factory covering the inception of the hard pretzel idea and the evolution of the Sturgis pretzel and family. Destruction of my pretzel in front of me within 2 minutes of crafting it was a bit harsh. I did get a bit of my pretzel history on-- had no idea back in the day lye was used in the pretzel! ewwwww. Buying the "fresh" pretzel after the tour was a nice touch.
(3)Mark C.
The Sturgis Pretzel House claims to be the first pretzel factory in America. The actual factory for Sturgis pretzels is elsewhere, but this building is maintained as a gift shop and museum for those who are interested in the history of the pretzel in America. For a small fee ($3 adults, $1 children, less for groups), you get a tour of their facility, a history lesson in how pretzels were invented and how they became part of American culture, and of course a small bag of pretzels. The bags of pretzels available in the gift shop are also tasty, and include a number of multi-grain varieties. If you are in the area with kids, it is definitely worth a stop. The whole experience should take you an hour or less.
(4)Will D.
I have enjoyed many factory tours, and this was easily the worst factory tour I've ever been on. It is amazing to me that they charged money for this tour (kids pay, too). During our visit, we heard the charming story of how Sturgis came by their recipe. However, we listened to this story in a hot, cramped room which was full of too many visitors. Afterward, the group learned to make the classic pretzel shape using dough (which was turned in for disposal, not baking). Last, there was a brief look at a bakery. After the tour, no pretzels were given out, and we were shuttled into the gift shop. Southeastern Pennsylvania is absolutely packed with interesting (and free!) company tours (the number of potato chip and pretzel factories per capita must be higher here than anywhere else in the world!), Sturgis does not measure up.
(1)Robin L.
Didn't do the tour - but the pretzels are great! They sell many different kinds in bags, have samples that you can try in the store and also sell fresh out-of-the-oven soft pretzels for $1.00 that were delicious!
(4)Vanessa V.
good pretzel. didn't do the tour. kind of desolate little shop with very little in the way of decorations. however, the soft pretzel was fresh and warm and only $1, and that's a-ok to me! for a great soft pretzel shop (and working factory in the back that you can observe for free) try callie's in mountainhome, pa
(3)