ABOUT US
Making Pretzels, Helping Others
About Our Pretzels
“Small batch gourmet pretzel bites” is a mouthful, but that’s exactly what we aim to create: A unique sweet and salty snack that will (hopefully) knock your socks off. Hearty sourdough pretzels are packed with flavor and coated by hand with the best ingredients we can source. We’re talkin’ freshly ground coffee beans and signature spice blends to produce inventive flavors you probably haven’t experienced on a pretzel before. Pretzels are our chosen vehicle for flavor and we’re excited to see what we keep dreaming up in the kitchen!
About Our Kitchen
Outsiders Kitchen + Café opened as a roadside café in May 2017, specializing in creatively crafted sandwiches and from scratch baked goods. We loved the café and ran it for two years until a challenging season brought the unexpected loss of a loved one, job changes, and a cancer diagnosis. We flexed our entrepreneurial muscles and pivoted our plans, dropping the café and becoming, simply, Outsiders Kitchen.
Until the fall of 2021, our products were made and packaged by hand at our commercial kitchen tucked among the beautiful Catskill Mountains in Margaretville, NY. Our small-but-mighty space could no longer keep up with the demand as we continued to grow, so we moved to third-party manufacturing. Each bag is still packaged by hand.
Meet the Outsiders
We’re Austin and Julie, high school sweethearts and the parents of two daughters and one dog-child who all bring us immense joy. We grew up in Southeastern Pennsylvania where pretzels are THE snack. We always had them in the house growing up as the go-to anytime snack. Never being a fan of flavored pretzels, we set out to create some flavorful combinations and came up with our own twist (pun intended).
After a lifetime in the Philly suburbs, we are now proud residents of Delaware County, a place we didn’t even know existed and never pictured ourselves living until a few short years ago. We have found that the slow, quiet pace of the Catskills provides a lot of creative energy and perfectly fits our sometimes-frenzied entrepreneurial life as we juggle a family, multiple businesses and projects, and a non-profit.
Why Outsiders?
We grew up in a close-knit community and very much desired to experience life where people didn’t recognize our last name, know all our extended family members (though we do love a good round of “the Mennonite game”) or were familiar with our story…to be known and understood for simply who we are without the weight of expectations. Our move to the Catskills was one of embracing downward mobility; we traded steady jobs, a built-in community, square footage, and security for a little cabin on the side of a mountain where we could dream, create, and grow. We became “outsiders” in every sense.
Entrepreneurism is ingrained in our genes. We both come from multi-generational family businesses, and appreciate the drive to work hard and HUSTLE while building a business all your own. We love providing jobs for our community members and investing in people that share our dream and common goal to, very simply, “work hard and be nice to people”.
While Outsiders Kitchen is a woman-owned business, we do own this company with some of our very best friends who have spent many dedicated years helping us grow. These friends have walked a mile and more with us in our shoes, investing their time, energy, and insight, and for that we are so thankful.
About Our Non-Profit
We care about pretzels; we care about small business. We also really care about helping people. Our work is focused through our 501(c)3 non-profit, Make It Rain. We founded this 100% volunteer organization along with our friends to simply help others help others. Since 2012, it’s been our joy and privilege to partner with so many incredible persons and organizations doing amazing work around the world. Together, we’ve impacted millions of lives through our initiatives in construction projects, medical deliveries, and sanitary pad manufacturing. Learn more about our work at: helpmakeitrain.org.