Randy Labosco started 30 years ago as a single-unite ani’s franchise at Florida Mall. Today, “Pretzel King of DFW” operates seven aunt Anne across the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), third largest Airport in the world – and it has not been done yet. With a plan to expand a total of 15 total shops, including future cinebon and jamba units, he has become one of the most experienced and successful nonsense franchise operators in the country.
“This is walkway food,” Learosco tells entrepreneur“You can draw a suitcase, take a pretzel and not humiliate anyone sitting next to a plane. And most customers already know what they want, so we serve them within a minute.”
That speed – stability, location strategy and a deep loyal team – has made Labosko a model franchise for Aunty Anne’s non -nominated playbook. His journey is a proof of a major tendency: brands that are found to be powerful, scalable growth to Master Non -Charitable Venue like airports, where others cannot.
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“Made for speed”
Labosco’s success is part of a major trend: aunt Anne (#87 on 2025 franchise 500) out-box strategy. Nontraditional franchising refers to the expansion of a franchise brand in places outside the typical storefront model. Instead of working in standard retail locations such as shopping centers or stripting centers or striping malls, nonsense franchisees are located in high-trafficks, often captive environment, such as airports, travel plazas and rest stops, college complexes, stadiums, and amazing parks.
These places often offer small footprints, high leg traffic and unique operating challenges (such as limited storage, safety protocols or rapid turnover requirements). Nontraditional franchising aims to meet customers where they are already – capturing impulse and maximizing brand exposure in space that demand speed, portability and stability.
In 2025 alone, the brand has already signed 13 new nontraditional agreements. According to the original company Goto Foods’ Chief Development Officer Bobby Morena, “Aunty is designed for Anne’s speed-and the speed is the king in high-length places.”
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Why do airports work
To understand why the aunt Anne is getting rid of the airports, the bus takes a picture of the average passenger: Hungry, ran away and in search of something fast, familiar and portable. “The brand is fully suited to high-utterput environment such as the brand airports, transit hubs and aranas,” says Morena, “at places where customers do not have time to browse, but still want something warm and satisfactory. ,
Aunt Anne’s compact format and immediate recognizable products make it an ideal fit for these high-veg settings. Most airport guests already know what they want, which helps to pursue lines. In addition, the “Aroma-Farward” model of the brand is a strategic advantage: travelers often smell aunt Anne, before they see it, and the smell of freshly-fought pretzel pulls them inside.
For franchisees like Labosko, those benefits are supported by data. Their airport locations continuously perform better than traditional mall stores, not only in volume but in the sale of per square foot. And thanks to the operational efficiency of Aunty Anne, even a point-off-cell terminal can generate millions in revenue. “Our airport stores do about 70% more in sales than traditional,” says Lerosco. “We have one that is 330 sq ft with a point-selling, and it is our busiest store-it was more than $ 2.2 million last year. It’s a very fast book and perhaps a 12 feet frontage. It’s surprising how much we can do per square foot in sales than much larger places.”
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Operating playbook
But as Morena notes, success in an airport is not just about foot traffic. “Airports are not easy,” they say. “There are strict security protocols, limited storage and pressure to serve continuously in all hours. It takes a competent operator to flourish.” This is the place where Aunty Anne’s support infrastructure – and franchisees like Labosko – become important. Goto Foods offers an airport-specific operating playbook, as well as sewn support to help navigate everything from compliance and construction to staffing and scheduling.
“Our team is included from the beginning,” says Morena. “We help identify the right terminal locations, handle the design and permission and even construction. Not every space is made equal inside an airport – we want our stores to be deployed for maximum visibility and flow.”
Franchisees also have access to shared services in the portfolio of Goto Foods, including supply chain management, training, IT and marketing. And in 2025, that support includes some highly visible: a full visual brand refreshed. As part of a comprehensive brand modernization, Aunty Anne is rebuilding more than 150 places this year – including Labosco’s DFW units. The updated look includes the Hello-Free Pretzel logo, bold new color palette, modular construction, open kitchen design, digital menu board and a dedicated mobile pickup zone.
“This is a beautiful new look,” says Morena. “It keeps us relevant – and when you are serving millions of passengers in a year, it matters.”
Laboscos agree. “Today’s support is night and day when I started 30 years ago,” he says. “Now we have found design, construction, IT and opes, which are working together from day one. It makes development very smooth.”
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looking ahead
With air travel and passengers spend more time – and money – spends inside the terminals, not as a side strategy of Aunty Anne as a side strategy, but as the future of their brand. “We are meeting guests where they are,” says Morena. “Not more often, it is in speed – in airports, stadiums, complexes and transit hubs.”
The brand’s bold new store design has been created to support that development. And with operators such as Labosco, in this way, Aunty Anne has proof that the model works in tight places and under pressure. For its share, Labosco is now starting. “My goal is 12 to 15 total stores in DFW,” they say.
As the aunt Anne Mall continues to develop beyond the food court, one thing is clear: the future of franchising may seem slightly different – and it may just smell like pretzel.
Randy Labosco started 30 years ago as a single-unite ani’s franchise at Florida Mall. Today, “Pretzel King of DFW” operates seven aunt Anne across the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), third largest Airport in the world – and it has not been done yet. With a plan to expand a total of 15 total shops, including future cinebon and jamba units, he has become one of the most experienced and successful nonsense franchise operators in the country.
“This is walkway food,” Learosco tells entrepreneur“You can draw a suitcase, take a pretzel and not humiliate anyone sitting next to a plane. And most customers already know what they want, so we serve them within a minute.”
That speed – stability, location strategy and a deep loyal team – has made Labosko a model franchise for Aunty Anne’s non -nominated playbook. His journey is a proof of a major tendency: brands that are found to be powerful, scalable growth to Master Non -Charitable Venue like airports, where others cannot.
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