REVERE (WBZ-AM) -- As owner of the Philly Pretzel Fatory in Revere, Bob Gesek finds himself in an interesting position with Philadelphia taking on New England in the Super Bowl this year.
He's a life-long Patriots fan. He did live in Philly for a while--but, sorry Eagles fans, he tells us he's rooting for Tom Brady and the Patriots.
Bob Gesek. (Carl Stevens/WBZ NewsRadio 1030)
Gesek told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens that he's seeing some backlash because of the company name.
"I think I've already seen it on Facebook," he said. "People are questioning what am I doing up here, you know, 'the evil empire coming up to Boston to sell Philly pretzels."
He doesn't want people to ditch the great snack just because of the name.
"It's catching on in Boston," he said. "People up here are realizing that they're real pretzels, and they're good. Bringing something from a foreign land doesn't mean that it's bad, just because it has a Philly name. We're gonna make it a Boston name, because we make it better up here!"
(Carl Stevens/WBZ NewsRadio 1030)
He's hoping to see who buys more pretzels on Super Bowl Sunday.
"Last weekend, I expected the Eagles fans to come out in droves, but the Patriots fans, probably six to one, bought more pretzels than the Philly fans," he said.
But for now, he just wants to serve his game-time snack to everyone, whether they're fans of the Pats or the Eagles.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports