Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery

We took the tour. It was pretty interesting, was a bit annoyed because there were too many kids and I couldn’t hear.
Tried regular soft pretzel, wouldn’t say it’s the best I’ve had, it was ok.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Very nice people and a great history lesson in the founding of the pretzel. Highly recommend the tour of the oldest and 1^st American pretzel factory. Oh and they make awesome pretzels too.

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.

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.

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.

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 :)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!