Pretzel Pushing Proving Profitable

"I'm almost what you might call an adict. Yes, I think I'm stuck; it is very easy to get stuck on pretzels," Lance Casebeer '68 warned yesterday as he pushed "The Pink Pretzel" through Harvard Square.

"The Pink Pretzel" is one of eight carts managed and owned by Gerry Stern, a law student, and Robert Collier, a graduate of Pennsylvania. Business is booming.

"B.U. students are the steadiest eaters, with Northeastern and Harvard running a close second," Casebeer said.

Casebeer, is in and around Harvard Square every afternoon excepting Sundays--and makes from $50 to $75 a week, depending mainly on the weather. He estimated a sale of about 200 pretzels on weekdays, running up to 400 on Saturdays.

"Saturday is our best day," he explains; "my wife helps me then."

"A guy can do well selling pretzels," Casebeer continued, "but females are generally better at it than males. They seem to have a feel for when things are done." This is vital in the business, since "a good pretzel is very, very good, but a bad one is horrid. Once you've tasted a pretzel cooked just right you'll never say no," he added.

"It's a great job" Casebeer, a Soc Rel major, said. "For the first time in my three years at Harvard I have gotten to see what people around here are really like."

Casebeer, has abandoned his post behind the wheel of the 'Pink Pretzel'. He has retired temporarily to prepare for exams. "But you never really leave pretzels" he says.

Hopes for the pretzel business are high. Stern plans to finish law school on this year's profits. 'It's growing, it's growing," he said