SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Owner of Great American Cookies, Parth Patel, hopes to provide something for everyone by adding Wetzel’s Pretzels to his storefront in Heavenly Village. That’s everyone except for the bear that visited his shop over two years ago when it was a Nestlé Toll House Café at the time.

With the addition of Wetzel’s Pretzels, Patel told the Tribune, laughing, “We don’t have room now, so I’m hoping the bear doesn’t show up again.”

You can expect Great American Cookies to have its new savory counterpart near the end of January when the combined storefront will offer treats for the sweet-tooth in the family and a snack for the salt craver.

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As someone who prefers savory over sweet, myself, I had to visit the Wetzel’s Pretzels in Reno for a taste of what’s to come to Heavenly Village.

I ordered a Pepperoni Twist pretzel and a bag full of Wetzel’s Bitz (bite sized pretzel morsels) along with three different dipping sauces to try. One thing I noticed as the warmth greeted by hands as I pulled my order out of the bag was that it wasn’t just the pretzels that cast the warmth. The sauces were warm too.

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I was looking forward to the savory nature of the snack and had my eyes on the pizza and cheddar cheese dipping sauces. I had of course asked for the caramel sauce as well to execute my due diligence in trying a full range of the menu, even if that included something sweet. To my surprise, the caramel sauce ended up being my favorite. Dipping each salt crusted warm dough pillow of a Wetzel’s Bitz into the caramel sauce created a salted caramel delight that had this past sweet denier double dipping.

My only wish was that there was more caramel. The silver lining was that it forced me to try the cheddar and pizza sauce to equal measures that up until that point were only staring at me. Both went well with the Pepperoni Twist pretzel as well as the Bitz.

While the Wetzel’s Bitz were perfect for sharing, the Pepperoni Twist provided the full size pretzel you can expect from a pretzel shop and is still easily shareable. The pepperoni and cheese baked onto the pretzel provided delicious layers to a pretzel that could already stand on its own.

I appreciated the menu and ordering process. The menus was concise and easily digestible, yet comprehensive. It offers something for every hunger level and craving, from hot dog bites and pizza inspired options, to cinnamon sugar and almond toppings that doesn’t neglect the sweet tooth. You can spice it up with their jalapeño topped pretzels, or jalapeño cheese sauce, or double down with both. Just about every option is available as both bite sized or pretzel sized and can be ordered and in your hands within minutes, sending you on your way.

Patel told me that adding the pretzel shop to the Great American Cookies storefront was strategic in more than one way. For one, it will add foot traffic during times when one product isn’t in high demand.

Some may not want a sweet product before lunch, Patel explained, “But they might be okay with eating a few pretzel bites—just buy a bucket and buy a little cup and share it with the family.”

He also hopes it captures the individuals who would previously walk into the cookie shop with a group or family and leave empty handed. “Not every single person will have that sweet tooth,” Patel said, “So that one customer that wants that savory treat, we’ve got that snack for them.”

While Heavenly Village is a common attraction for visitors, Patel is optimistic his shop may draw those closer to home.

“I think what it does is it attracts even that local crowd. Wetzel’s is a pretty popular name where if you don’t have a Wetzel’s in town, you might want to drive to Heavenly Village, even though as a local, you might not go there often.”

The pretzel shop originated in 1994, a vision of Bill Phelps and Rick Wetzel in Redondo Beach, Calif. Today, Wetzel’s Pretzels has grown to more than 340 fresh bakeries across the United States and around the world.

Patel’s family has owned the cookie shop in Heavenly since 2006. One summer between college semesters, Patel managed the shop and eventually took over ownership of the Tahoe location in 2019.

Although typically found in malls, Patel theorized the pretzel shop could be good fit in Heavenly Village because it is an easy product to walk with. In the winter it could be a quick warm snack before or after the slopes. In the summertime, the company’s frozen granitas and lemonades can provide a beverage to cool off with.

Great American Cookies’ hours may be impacted within the next couple of weeks for the addition of the Wetzel’s Pretzels’ kiosk.

Thereafter, one half of the shop will be dedicated to sweets and the other to something salty.

“The savory and the sweet,” Patel says “kind of goes hand in hand.”

He plans on having the combined storefront open Friday, Jan. 24.