Wetzel's Pretzels has opened a bakery inside the Walmart Supercenter at 605 Saint James Ave. in Goose Creek, giving South Carolina its second location for the mall-food-court staple. The bakery is run by franchisees Mathieu and Hannah Rajaonah, the same couple who opened the brand's first South Carolina shop in Summerville earlier this year.
The new Goose Creek bakery marks Wetzel's second location in the state, according to QSR Web. It brings the chain's freshly baked pretzels and beverages directly to Walmart shoppers, folding a snack stop into an everyday errand run rather than asking customers to make a separate trip to a standalone store or food court.
A Family Expands After a 2025 Move to Charleston
The Rajaonahs relocated to the Charleston area in 2025 before opening their first Wetzel's location in Summerville earlier in 2026, per the same QSR Web report. That Summerville shop, also inside a Walmart, was described by The Post and Courier as the brand's first brick-and-mortar location in South Carolina.
With Goose Creek now open, the family says it plans to keep growing Wetzel's presence throughout the state, the QSR Web report notes. Mathieu Rajaonah cited the Walmart partnership as a chance to connect with local communities, framing the retail tie-in as more than just a convenient real estate play.
Part of a Bigger Walmart Push Nationwide
The Goose Creek bakery is also part of a broader pattern for Wetzel's, which the Post and Courier reports was founded in 1994 and now counts more than 450 locations nationwide. The chain's growth strategy includes adding bakeries inside Walmart stores across the country, the outlet notes, and Wetzel's itself describes the approach as a way to pursue growth through nontraditional retail locations and reach new customers in additional markets, according to QSR Web.
That strategy has already played out elsewhere. In the Sacramento metro area, Wetzel's partnered with Walmart to open its tenth bakery there, led by first-time restaurant operators Gurbir and Amrinder Singh, according to Wetzel's Pretzels: Franchise Opportunity. That same pair has plans to open a second Sacramento-area location in summer 2026, the franchise site notes, showing how the Walmart model lets operators scale quickly once they have one location running.
For now, the Goose Creek store gives Lowcountry shoppers a second spot in South Carolina to grab a warm pretzel between grocery runs, with the Rajaonahs positioned to keep adding locations as Wetzel's leans further into its Walmart partnership.
