“We’re honored to bring our family’s tradition back to the heart of downtown,” said Emma Smales, the fifth-generation owner of the pretzel bakery. “The Arcade holds a special place in Dayton’s history, as well as ours, and we’re proud to be part of its revitalization.”
Credit: Knack Video + Photo
Credit: Knack Video + Photo
From Warren Street to Xenia Avenue
The bakery originally opened as Gem City Pretzel on Warren Street in 1906 by Smales' great-great-grandfather, Rudie Schaaf, who came from Germany to Dayton in 1885.
“Even though we weren’t Smales yet... my great-great-grandpa who started the bakery was selling pretzels in The Arcade as early as 1913,” Smales said.
She used the Dayton Daily News Archives to look through old advertisements highlighting the pretzel bakery and found out Schaaf was selling other products at The Arcade such as homemade noodles, bulk potato chips, popcorn and popcorn balls.
From what Smales can tell, her family was selling pretzels at The Arcade until the 1980s.
Her great-grandmother, Emma Smales, moved the bakery to its current location at 210 Xenia Ave. in 1926 and renamed it Smales Pretzel Bakery.
“There were a lot of pretzel makers at that time especially on Xenia Avenue,” Smales said. “Twin Towers was the German neighborhood.”
Credit: Knack Video + Photo
Credit: Knack Video + Photo
Smales took over ownership of the bakery from her dad, Larry, in 2015.
“I think I’m most proud of staying true to the product and who we are and who we’ve always been, but being able to stay relevant and current,” Smales said. “It’s a fine line to walk, but I think so far it’s been successful.”
The craft of pretzel making
For over a century, Smales Pretzel Bakery has been making its signature hard and soft pretzels, using only four ingredients: flour, water, yeast and salt.
With the new location, the bakery is planning to continue making its dough at its original spot and then rolling, boiling and baking the pretzels at The Arcade.
Because the space is only 300-square-feet, employees will hand roll the pretzels — something they haven’t done in nine years.
Credit: Knack Video + Photo
Credit: Knack Video + Photo
“When I first took over, you didn’t have a choice,” Smales said. “The machine was broken, so we were hand rolling every pretzel.”
Smales is looking forward to offering a mustard bar with six to seven different kinds of mustards from Woeber’s in Springfield. They also plan to host pretzel twisting classes.
The Xenia Avenue bakery will continue to operate and produce thousands of pretzels a day.
Staying true to their roots
Smales admitted she wasn’t planning to open another location because it is a lot of work, but she knew they needed to grow in a mindful way.
“I don’t know what flipped,” Smales said. “I think I realized we’re sort of at our capacity where we’re out. We’re out of space for sure. We’re doing sort of the most we can do in that space.”
Her goal with expansion was to stay true to their history and who they are. The Arcade “feels like coming home.”
“We’ve always believed in Dayton and Dayton has always believed in us,” Smales said. “This just feels like another way for us to say we believe in Dayton. We believe in downtown. We believe in the Arcade. We think it’s going to be successful.”
Smales is waiting for approval from the city after submitting permits and plans. They hope to open by this fall.
MORE DETAILS
Smales Pretzel Bakery is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
For more information and updates, visit smalespretzels.com or the bakery’s Facebook or Instagram pages (@smalespretzelbakery).
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