Local business owner wins Franchisee of the Year for Ben’s Soft Pretzels

March 20, 2019 | 3:03 am

Updated March 19, 2019 | 8:58 pm

Ron Williams owns all of the Ben’s Soft Pretzels franchises in the Owensboro and Evansville area, as well as the franchise recently included at the University of Louisville football stadium. | Photo by AP Imagery

Ron Williams owns all of the Ben’s Soft Pretzels franchises in the Owensboro and Evansville area, as well as the franchise recently included at the University of Louisville football stadium. For all of Williams’ efforts in expanding his franchises, he was recently awarded Franchisee of the Year at a conference held by the company’s top executives.

“Ben’s Soft Pretzels has 85 locations in 10 different states. We selected Ron as Franchisee of the Year out of all the franchise owners,” said Vice President at Ben’s Soft Pretzels Jillian Koeneman. “We base the award on a couple different criteria — one being sales, the second being a franchisee’s involvement in community events and, third, on their character and willingness to be a team player.”

Koeneman said Ron and his wife Tammy are “two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet” and that they’ve also been very involved in their community as franchise owners.

“[Ron] does a lot of give back events. He added locations at the Evansville Otters stadium and the University of Louisville, trying to expand his franchise,” Koeneman said. “We feel that Ron and his wife are great representatives for Ben’s Soft Pretzels.”

Williams said Tammy and he were honored to receive the award from the company.

“We’re very appreciative of the Owensboro and Evansville communities for supporting us,” Williams said. “Business has been good.”

Williams’ next step in franchise expansion will be incorporating delivery services for Meijer location of Ben’s Soft Pretzels.

“Owensboro has Big O Delivery and DoorDash here now, so we are definitely looking into those options. That way, you can still get a pretzel without having to get up and drive somewhere to go get it,” Williams said.

Koeneman said it was fulfilling to see someone as humble as Williams receive an award for his hard work as a franchise owner.

“We always give that award last, and I could just tell he was so surprised when we said his name,” Koeneman said. “It made me really happy to give that to someone who doesn’t expect the fame or the glory.”

March 20, 2019 | 3:03 am

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