Anger at buying limit as cult US chain opens its doors in Sydney
Auntie Anne's, the world's largest hand-rolled soft pretzel franchise, made its debut Down Under with the opening of its first store at Westfield Parramatta on Saturday.
But while some Australians lined up more than five hours before its doors opened to get their hands on the doughy treat, the store has been riddled with complications.
During its first few days of trading, demand for the iconic Auntie Anne's pretzels has been so overwhelming, customers can now only buy 3 at a time.
Meanwhile some of those who have been lucky enough to get their chops around the bread-like product have complained that it was 'burnt' and 'didn't taste great'.
Yu-Jin Lee, who along with his business partner Johann Wong has worked with Auntie Anne's to bring the chain to Australia, told news.com.au the store had been inundated with customers and as such has had to take measures to make sure no one is disappointed.
'Each of our pretzels is carefully hand-rolled and baked in small batches by our new kitchen team, who are doing their best to deliver a great experience,' he said.
'As with any handmade process, small variations can occur and with such high demand, every day offers valuable opportunities for our team to grow and finetune their skills.
'To help more people get a taste, we've temporarily set a limit of three pretzels per customer.'
He also apologised to anyone who purchased a pretzel that felt it 'didn't meet expectations' and urged them to 'reach out to us directly'.
'We truly appreciate feedback and would love the opportunity to make it right,' he said.
'We're incredibly grateful for the enthusiastic welcome we've received since opening Auntie Anne's in Sydney and send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who's lined up patiently to enjoy our freshly baked pretzels during this exciting launch week.'
Social media has exploded with videos on the cult chain's recent Sydney opening, though mostly positive, there were some who pointed out there appeared to be 'teething problems' in Parramatta.
'They opened late, there were certain items on the menu that are 'not available' at the moment which was really disappointing. The pretzels were OK, the sticks were the best out of all of them, I'd give them a 5 out of 10 at the moment until they sort some things out,' one disgruntled customer shared on TikTok.
'Have waited 90 minutes in line to find out there's no pretzel bites, despite the fact it's on the menu and on the shop front, they just weren't selling them today,' whinged another.
While another claimed she waited 2 hours only to be sold 'burnt' pretzels.
Auntie Anne's has since responded to the video, stating 'we're still in our early days, but that's no excuse. If you're open to giving us another chance, we'd love to twist your day with some fresh pretzels on us'.
Popular Melbourne food bloggers @nectoriouspapi and @DubEatsEverything defended the chain's new venture, calling for Aussies to 'cut them some slack'.
'It's hard when you first open and have massive lines, what are you meant to do?' DubEatsEverything told news.com.au.
'They only have a very small oven … and at $5 for a pretzel, it's pretty reasonably priced.'
Nectorious Papi agreed, stating: 'People need to cut them some slack as the demand is higher than they predicted. It's expected when something new that has never been in Australia before opens.'
Mostly though, people were delighted with their pretzels, which cost between $5.80 and $6.50 dependent on which flavour purchased.
Lines filled Westfield Parramatta's top floor on Saturday as hungry Aussies waited hours in order to get their hands on Original, Cinnamon, Sweet Almond and Pepperoni flavoured pretzels.
One social media user even claimed that the queue wrapped all the way around to the train station outside.
Despite the overwhelming demand, more than 1000 pretzels were sold on opening day, and the new bakery has continued to draw large crowds since.
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