Auntie Anne’s pretzel shop at Columbia Center mall soon will open a shop inside the Walmart Super Center off Road 68 in Pasco.

And if the new store proves to be a lucrative move for franchise owners Chris and Lore’K Garofola and Man Lam, then the public might start seeing Auntie Anne’s open in other Walmart stores, as well as the college campus down the road.

“This was a good time for us to start expanding because the Tri-Cities is one of the fastest growing areas in the country right now,” Chris Garofola said.

The new store will feature all the popular pretzel offerings Auntie Anne’s is known for, including the newer items on the menu like bacon cheddar stuffed nuggets and frozen lemonade mixers.

The Pasco eatery opens in mid-August. Hours will be from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

One reason Auntie Anne’s franchise is profitable is the low overhead cost because the main ingredients in the pretzels are flour, water and yeast, said Lore’K Garofola.

“And we are not part of a corporation, either,” she added. “We own our franchise. It’s important for us to take care of our employees and stay involved with our community, as well.”

The Tri-City Auntie Anne’s shops are overseen by general manager Amylee Smith, 28, who also handles the management of the Cinnabon store at Columbia Center. The trio of business owners has owned the Cinnabon franchise since 2012.

The partners employ about 30 people total.

“It’s awesome to work for Lore’K, Chris and Man,” Smith said. “They stay involved in many aspects of the Tri-Cities with various sponsorships,” including Tri-City Americans hockey and Dust Devils baseball, as well as area schools.

Smith also said every employee must go through at least a week of training because making an Auntie Anne’s pretzel is no easy task. They must be a certain weight, size and shape and learning how to twirl the dough in just the right way before rapidly flipping it into a giant pretzel shape takes some practice, Smith said. Pretzels are made fresh daily.

“These pretzels never get old, and customers are always patient to wait for a fresh batch from the oven,” she said. “The recipe we use that makes them taste so good is a secret.”

The history of the pretzel is a bit unclear. One story is that the Catholic Church played a leading role in the early history of the pretzel in seventh century Europe. The church dictated much stricter rules governing fasting and abstinence during Lent than it does today. Since pretzels were made with simple ingredients, it was considered an ideal food to consume during the holy season when all types of meat, dairy and eggs were prohibited.

Another story is that the pretzel found its way to America on the Mayflower, and the Pilgrims used pretzels to trade with the Native Americans. German immigrants also brought pretzels to the New World when they began settling in Pennsylvania around 1710.

Then in 1861, Julius Sturgis founded the first commercial pretzel bakery in the town of Lititz in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Auntie Anne’s pretzels were founded in 1988 when Anne and Jonas Beiler opened a stand at a Downington, Pennsylvania, farmers market. The couple began franchising their pretzels a year later and by 1992 there were 100 franchise stores across the country.

Lam and the Garofolas plan to continue their partnership with Auntie Anne’s, whether it’s in a Walmart, a college campus, military base or a food truck.

“Who knows where we’ll be in 20 years,” Lore’K Garofola said. “We love this community and plan to stay involved.”