Hot Sam Pretzels was an American restaurant chain selling

soft pretzel A pretzel ( ; from or , ) is a type of baked pastry made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twisted bac ...

s. Julius Young opened the first outlet at Livonia Mall in a

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

suburb in Michigan. In 1971, the owners sold the company to General Host, who then owned the Detroit-based retailer

Frank's Nursery & Crafts Frank's Nursery & Crafts was an American retailer devoted to the sale of lawn and garden products. It operated a chain of stores, with 170 outlets across 14 states. It specialized in products such as shrubs, trees, accent plants, flowers, and l ...

. General Host sold it again in 1986. Mrs. Fields acquired the chain in 1995. Mrs. Field's purchased Pretzel Time in 1996 and merged the two chains under the "Pretzel Time" brand. The last 10 locations were converted in 2005.

In popular culture

Hot Sam was recreated in 2018 for an appearance in the mall food court of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...

'', which is set in the mid-1980s. The faux mall facades were constructed at

Gwinnett Place Mall Gwinnett Place Mall is a largely vacant shopping mall located in the Pleasant Hill Road corridor of Duluth, Georgia, in the United States. Once the leading mall in the region, the mall declined in the face of competition from newer malls nearby ...

near

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, where the series is filmed.

References

{{Rowntree's Pretzels Restaurants in Michigan Defunct companies based in Michigan Defunct fast-food chains in the United States American companies established in 1967 Restaurants established in 1967 1967 establishments in Michigan 2005 disestablishments in Michigan Restaurants disestablished in 2005 1971 mergers and acquisitions 1995 mergers and acquisitions Defunct restaurant chains in the United States