The author, Sarah Bird, once said, “Love makes intellectual pretzels of us all.” While she may have been referring to all the twists and knots and ‘crossings’ of romantic love, Meike Long, owner of the Pretzel Connection and pretzel baker extraordinaire, hopes her ‘pretzel love’ will help connect people from all walks of life.
Some of my favorite childhood memories are of visiting castles in Germany with my Mutti and my Oma (mom and grandma). These trips not only provided scope for my overactive imagination, but we always stopped to buy a massive pretzel on a ribbon. We would wear around our necks and munch on it while traipsing around the castle corridors. When I heard about Meike’s authentic German pretzels, naturally, I couldn’t wait to connect with her.
Luckily for Meike, she can trace the first pretzel she ever made back to her Mutti’s kitchen. Meike grew up in Kaiserslautern near the United States’ Ramstein Air Base in Southern Germany. Raised by her grandparents, her Oma (whom she called Mutti, an endearing name for Mom) loved to cook, and each Saturday she would prepare a family dinner. Meike shares, “Everybody had to show up, and we would make pretzels together for our friends and family. So, as a young girl, I learned to make pretzels alongside my Mutti.”
Fast forward to a day in 1977 when Meike decided to visit the gym on the military base; little did she know that her future would come walking through the doors in the form of an American Soldier. At first, she wasn’t too keen on him, but he grew on her, and by the time his tour of duty for the U.S. Army was finished, the two had fallen in love. Meike laughs, “Bob went back to the States in 1980, so I decided to come to the U.S. for a visit. That was on March 18th, and we were married on May 3rd.” Bob and Meike moved to Boston and were later joined by a son who they named Fritz, after Meike’s grandfather. She reminisces, “I always enjoyed cooking and entertaining, and when Fritz was around eight years old, he started to play hockey, so we met a whole new group of people we enjoyed getting together with. Fritz played all through school, and after college, he and four of his teammates decided to come out to Park City to work as ‘Lifties.’ And, to make a long story short, they all stayed out here.” Meike continues, “He asked us if we’d like to join him, we were retired at that point, and we enjoyed mountain biking, climbing, fishing, and the mountains, so we came out here to this beautiful valley, and have just really loved it.”
Meike’s fun-loving personality drew others to her, and in 2018, after becoming friends with Carl Probst, the owner of The Corner restaurant, she was invited to join their team. She explains, “I said yes, and over the years, I have gone from being a host to being a server to helping out in the kitchen to whatever they needed me to do. One day, Carl asked me if I wanted to join him in the bakery, so I helped him bake all the beautiful desserts, rolls, breads, and everything else they created there. Around that same time, Mandy was opening up Judy’s Donuts, so I helped Mandy open that donut shop and worked there for a couple of months until things got going. Then, Berkley, Carl’s son, decided to have a once-a-month beer club event where they would showcase a local brewery, and he said, ‘Meike, can you make a pretzel for this event that is coming up?’” Well, Meike made the pretzels she’d grown up making with her Mutti, and, of course, not only were they a success, but they were a huge hit! Everyone who came to the event wanted to know where the pretzels came from and who made them. Before she knew it, The Pretzel Connection was born, and Meike was spending her days driving around the valley to deliver her delicious pretzels to people’s homes. That was just the beginning of Meike’s journey — word traveled fast, and one day, she received a phone call asking if she would cater a wedding. “I was like, sure. We can do that. Bob and I created a pretzel bar stand: it’s a three-tier copper construction that we hung pretzels off of. We displayed all of the condiments we offer on beautiful trays, and we had sticks and nuggets in baskets; everything was decorated beautifully with lights. The pretzel bar was super popular! After we did that wedding, everything just went crazy!”
It was 2018, and unfortunately, the world was about to go a little crazy too. Meike shares, “After Covid, I left The Corner and started working with a high-end catering company in Park City. They allowed me to use their kitchen to produce my product which was such a help. The people I worked for were very kind. They always promoted my product to the people we served that evening, which created more and more of a buzz.” Meike also joined the Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce and began creating connections with other local business owners. Making connections with others has always been a dream of hers; however, Meike never thought that she’d be bonding over pretzels, let alone creating pretzels for companies like Heber Valley Brewing Company, Offset Bier, Marriott, Blue Boar Inn, and the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, just to name a few, or invited to be one of the exclusive vendors for the River Bottom Ranch where they affectionately call her the ‘late-night snack vendor.’ In addition to providing an incredible Pretzel Bar for pretty much any occasion or event you can think of, The Pretzel Connection sells their wares at local markets and events, Oktoberfest, and their bakery located at
2887 South Mill Road in Heber City. Meike also enjoys taking pretzels to schools, daycares, and assisted living centers. It has been a wild and crazy experience, but Meike loves it!
Creating her pretzels is indeed a labor of love as each batch, from start to finish, is a five-hour process. But, it’s worth it, as everyone who tries her pretzels tells Meike they are the best pretzels they’ve ever eaten. And, if you want to add something sweet or savory to your twisted salty goodness, you can choose from several types of mustard, chocolate hazelnut mousse, brown butter cinnamon icing, raspberry honey butter, or cheddar cheese sauce — rumor has it that it’s so good you’ll want to drink it! Meike and Bob hand-make all their yummy condiments, except for the mustard, which Meike whispers conspiratorially, “I doctor it up a little.” All of the ingredients for the pretzels are sourced locally: the flour is from Lehi Mills, and the salt is from Redmond’s. “Plus a few secret ingredients,” Meike smiles. Amazingly, Meike and Bob run every facet of the business, from financials to marketing to updating their social media to planning events to baking to delivery to whatever the business needs — it’s just the two of them. Meike explains, “We are constantly in motion, working 12 to 14 hours every day. It’s a huge undertaking, but somehow, we have made it work. I just want to share as much pretzel love as possible and connect with as many people as I can. I think it’s so important — talking with and getting to know people.” Meike chose her company’s name and logo to reflect her desire to connect with people herself and to help others connect. She hopes that people will take the time to stop by her place and introduce themselves. And, say hello, and get to know each other while waiting in line for a pretzel or at an event while deciding which delicious condiment to add. After all, for Meike, The Pretzel Connection is all about connection and sharing her pretzel love. Meike sums it up beautifully, “I never ever thought I’d be a baker. But it has brought so much joy to my life, especially when I see the kids. When we would do the Heber Market on Thursday nights, all these kids would come up, and they’d have these big smiles. There was all this other delicious food around, yet all they wanted was a pretzel. There is just something about it that makes you feel so good. I’m just really grateful for everything!”
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