People line up from 4am for huge US food chain opening in Sydney

People were lining up since 4am in order to get their hands on an item from a cult US chain that has finally come to Sydney.

People were lining up since 4am in order to get their hands on an item from a cult US chain that has finally come to Sydney.

Auntie Anne’s, the world’s largest hand-rolled soft pretzel franchise, made its debut Down Under with the opening of its first store at Westfield Parramatta on Saturday.

Some Australians lined up from 4am — more than five hours before the store opened its doors — in order to get their hands on the pretzels.

Lines filled the shopping centre’s top floor as people waited hours in order to get their hands on Original, Cinnamon, Sweet Almond and Pepperoni flavoured pretzels. One social media user claimed that the line wrapped all the way around to the train station outside.

The American chain sells pretzels. Picture: Instagram/@nectoriouspapi

Yu-Jin Lee, who along with his business partner Johann Wong, has worked with Auntie Anne’s to bring it to Australia, told news.com.au; “We are amazed at the turnout that’s for sure. We had one customer who lined up from 4am and waited until 9.30am when we officially opened the store.

“We anticipated a good response, but the excitement people have shown for Auntie Anne’s has certainly exceeded all our expectations!

“Our crew have been working around the clock baking up a storm and I think we will see the line up continue for quite some time.”

More than 1000 pretzels were sold on opening day.

Mr Lee said bringing Auntie Anne’s to Australia has been a dream years in the making, saying one of his fondest childhood memories is going to the mall to grab an Auntie Anne’s pretzel.

Popular food content creator @NectoriousPapi was one of the first to try the baked treat, digging into the pepperoni pretzel.

Hundreds lined up to try Auntie Anne's. Picture: TikTok/@vaughan_l3

“Think Baker’s Delight. It’s still the pretzel flavour but as soft as a Baker’s Delight roll,” he said.

“It’s because you order it and you get it fresh, rather than it sitting there from the morning.”

He also rated the cinnamon sticks and the almond sticks with cream cheese, saying the latter was probably his favourite.

“You also can’t go wrong with the hot dog bites. There’s too much to choose from,” he said.

The popular chain, which sells an array of sweet and savoury pretzels, first opened its doors in Pennsylvania back in 1988 and now has more than 2000 locations around the world – with five new ones planned across Australia in the next 12 months.

Nectro tried the pretzels. Picture: Instagram/@nectoriouspapi

Aussie customers can expect the full Auntie Anne’s experience, Mr Lee said, including signature pretzel varieties such as original, cinnamon sugar, sweet almond, and pepperoni cheese, along with sweet and savoury nugget bites with the dough mixed, hand-rolled and baked on site.

It’s just the latest American chain to open in Australia in recent months with Wendy’s, Wingstop and In-N-Out either having pop-ups or opening its doors permanently.

But as Auntie Anne’s joins a long line of American fast-food restaurants opening in Australia, are Aussies going to become sick of the once hard-to-get food? Melbourne-based food blogger Nectro.

“It’s really exciting to see US chains opening in Australia,” he told news.com.au ahead of the store’s opening.

“Many of us have heard the hype, or if they’re lucky tried the items on holiday, but to be able to eat these well-known brand’s on our own doorstep means it’s now available to everyone.

“These brands are often names we’ve grown up watching in the movies, so it’s a thrill to have the option to buy something we’ve never tried. The big test is really whether or not they stand the test of time.”

Originally published as People line up from 4am for huge US food chain opening in Sydney