Free pretzels Tuesday for National Pretzel Day

Do Tuesday’s primary choices have you twisted in knots?

There may be no better way to wash that taste out of your mouth than with some salty, doughy goodness.

Luckily, Tuesday is also National Pretzel Day.

And that means free pretzels for your troubles.

At least two retail chains, including Philly Pretzel Factory and Auntie Anne’s, will be offering giveaways.

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Philly Pretzel Factory will be giving away one free pretzel to everyone who visits its five Delaware franchises on Tuesday. The first 100 guests at each location also will receive a card that guarantees them one free pretzel every day in May.

Opening times for the Philadelphia-based chain’s Delaware stores vary, but the stores can be found off Naamans Road in Brandywine Hundred, inside the Wal-Mart off Centerville Road near Prices Corner, in the Eden Square Shopping Center in Bear, off U.S. 113 in Georgetown and off Del. 1 north of Rehoboth Beach.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Auntie Anne’s, which claims to be the world’s largest soft pretzel franchise, also will be celebrating the big day, only with a twist.

Fans who signed up for the chain’s “My Pretzel Perks” mobile app before 11:59 p.m. Monday are eligible to choose either a free original or cinnamon sugar pretzel at its eight locations.

Five app users also will be selected at random to receive free pretzels for a year.

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National Pretzel Day is not actually a national holiday – yet. But that might be because it is so new.

While the pretzel’s history can be traced back more than 2,600 years, the unofficial holiday reportedly first came into existence about 30 years ago. But the dough really got rolling in 2003 when then-Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell acknowledged the pretzel’s importance to the state’s history and economy.

This is the ninth year Philly Pretzel Factory has celebrated National Pretzel Day. A company spokesperson said the event is regularly one of the top-five highest grossing days for its stores, with sales jumping nearly 65 percent.

Contact business reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.