A local bakery just got a big order with a twist, literally.
Bread and Water Co. in the Belle View Shopping Center is now the pretzel maker for Capital One Arena. Throughout the hockey and basketball seasons, as well as during concerts and special events, customers can expect to find pretzels made by Bread and Water’s bakery in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County.
Bread and Water Co. owners Markos Panas, Noelie Rickey, and Doug Abedje also own Beeliner Diner (3648 King Street) in the Bradlee Shopping Center and The Dog Park (708 King Street) in Old Town. At Beeliner, the trio runs their award-winning Bun Papa concept, and from 2022 to 2024 served hamburgers as an expanded culinary menu offered by Monumental Sports at Capital One Arena.
Panas says upward of 5,000 pretzels are being made by hand every week, and that staff start work at 4 a.m. He also said that it’s taken a lot of training, practice, and preparation.
“We’ve been working with Monumental Sports and Aramark for years, earning their trust and delivering fantastic, local handmade breads and desserts for their suites and for special events,” Panas told ALXnow. “Our pretzels will now be their house pretzel for all their concessions. They’ve even branded their machines.”
Panas said that the pretzels are lye-dipped and that he learned the art from a Swiss Bavarian master baker he worked with for years. Last year, Bread and Water made figure eight pretzels at Capital One Arena to celebrate Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of the National Hockey League’s all-time scoring record.
“They were a huge hit,” Panas said. “The shaping is key to a perfect pretzel. You’ve gotta have a fat little belly and a twist.”
Panas said that new staff have been hired just to make pretzels.
“Our team at Bread and Water is amazing,” he said. “We brought in some new hires just for this, and most of the whole team has been chipping in during the process. I love it. It’s a wonderful thing to see the whole team coming together, happy and busy.”
