LEJ Pretzel Company
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LEJ Pretzel Company started out with a dinner party. Owner Lori Milliken, her husband Evan, and their friend Jason had just finished eating, and they realized they had all the ingredients to make pretzels. “When we tried the pretzels, and they turned out delicious,” said Lori. “We wanted to see if people liked them like we do.”
Haile Farmers Market was one of their first attempts at selling their Bavarian style soft pretzels, and since then the business hasn’t stopped growing. “Evan and Jason are the talent in the kitchen, but I’ve wanted to own my own business for years,” said Lori.
Lori said the most surprising part in this journey has been the growing pains. “At one point we couldn’t make enough,” she said. “I just signed a lease on a brick and mortar place in the Freewheel Project. We’re going from cottage food to commercial.”LEJ has other plans besides just pretzels. There are ideas for baking dinner rolls for restaurants, cinnamon sugar sweet pretzels, and maybe other baked goods. The journey to becoming a bakery has been swift and exciting. “I’ve never done this before,” Lori said. “I’m just trying to take it day by day.”