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WHEREAS, founded in the early 1900s as a bread bakery, The Pretzel Shop on Carey Way in the South Side switched primarily to making pretzels in 1927, becoming the main source of pretzels for street vendors in Pittsburgh throughout the 20th-century, who would sell their pretzels across the South Side and Downtown; and,
WHEREAS, in 1981, Daniel Bowen, an out of work carpenter with an entrepreneurial spirit, purchased The Pretzel Shop with his wife, Marlene Bowen, and put the shop's oven, which dates to 1872, to new use, baking rolls and sandwiches along with flavored pretzels, and opening a new storefront onto 2316 East Carson Street; and,
WHEREAS, Marlene, even though she is in her 70s, continues to work in The Pretzel Shop, where she has been joined at one time or another by all of her children, including Shawn Bowen, Aaron Bowen, Kelly Trocano and Jaime Gallagher, all of whom still work in the store, and they are helped out by seven out of the Bowen's fifteen grandchildren; and,
WHEREAS, such disparate celebrities as Fred Rogers, who did a segment on The Pretzel Shop for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and Seth Rogen and Kevin Smith, who make sure to visit the shop every time they are in town, have all been patrons of The Pretzel Shop; and,
WHEREAS, The Pretzel Shop has been a Pittsburgh culinary landmark for over a century, consistently selling delicious and affordable baked goods and sandwiches to the hard-working men and women of Pittsburgh's South Side; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Tuesday, February 21st 2012, to be The Pretzel Shop Day in the City of Pittsburgh.