Vince Marinelli grew up in Philadelphia eating soft pretzels and later selling them on street corners.
He ate a lot of pretzels over the years, but never grew tired of them. Instead, he decided he wanted to learn to make them, said his daughter, Olivia.
After apprenticing with a Philly pretzel maker he opened A Taste of Philly in Doylestown. In 2006 his wife, Danielle, launched Sweet Pea Ice Cream, and they merged the two businesses.
Two years ago the couple, Olivia and son Nick launched The Salt Box, a pretzel and ice cream store featuring a variety of sandwiches made using pretzel buns. They fulfilled a dream to create a café-style setting with a variation of flavors and fillings.
The shop on Easton Road in Plumsteadville has a state-of-the-art pretzel-making station where visitors can watch the pretzel dough being twisted into the appropriate shapes.
“It all came out of a love of food,” said Olivia Marinelli.
Together the family brainstormed and came up with the variety of sandwiches that are quickly snatched up each morning by hungry customers. Breakfast fare includes egg and cheese sandwiches served with a choice of bacon, pork roll, sausage or avocado. Lunchtime offerings include the very popular ribeye cheesesteak with caramelized onions, buffalo chicken, spinach and feta, pepperoni with provolone and cream cheese with everything topping. For the hot dog lover, there are hot dogs with or without cheese wrapped in a pretzel bun.
Standard-sized soft pretzels are always available along with pretzel nuggets and a variety of mustards and dips. Dessert can be cinnamon nuggets with sweet cream or ice cream with flavors that include the standards plus salted caramel, toasted coconut, espresso crunch, boozy banana, sweet-salty, and pistachio with wildflower honey.
The restaurant also has a small beer and wine garden featuring only Pennsylvania products. The menu includes hard lemonade, boozy milkshake, wines, bloody Mary and local beers, seltzers and teas. Friday and Saturday evenings there is a happy hour featuring music.
The Salt Box also offers catering for its products.
If you go looking for the low-slug, box-shaped Salt Box, be aware that a gust of wind took away part of its sign. Until it is fixed, it reads “Box” instead of the full name. It is located on Easton Road (Route 611) near the center of Plumsteadville.
And if you are wondering, yes, the Marinellis all still love and eat pretzels. “We’re a big pretzel family,” said Olivia.
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