From as early as I can remember (and we're talking 70's here), our Michigan Stadium tailgate always included hot, soft Benny's Bakery pretzels. It just went hand and hand, as Benny only served his most popular item on Saturday mornings. If you didn't pre-order or get there by 10:30am, you were typically out of luck. But, with a traditional noon start time and tailgating starting as early as sun-up; getting to Benny's for coffee and pretzels, actually, helped get you out of bed.


You can't imagine my excitement when, after many years of providing a place for Salinians to convene for early Saturday morning politics, Benny wanted to sleep in a little longer and sold the beloved bakery to family friends, Steve and Erin Babiak. Now, Steve has some of the strangest sleeping hours in town, baking throughout Friday night for the impending Saturday morning Pretzel rush. He hasn't missed a beat, with Benny's as friendly as ever and the pretzels still hot, soft, with the perfect salt. Every time I pull one apart and take a bite, I hear the fight song and the roar of 110,000 faithful.

Category: College Stories // MI Schools