Entrepreneur with autism inspires others with booming pretzel business

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBAL) – Marcus Moore, 29, has a passion for pretzels and a desire to be self-sufficient that drove him to start his own business.

Though he’s worked at local grocery stores over the years, the man with autism has always wanted to grow and do something on his own.

“I know some jobs may not offer those supervisor positions, manager positions because with autism I may lack some of those leadership skills,” Moore explained.

His father, Walter Mills, said Moore came home from work upset one day wanting to know if what he made for a living would be enough to take care of himself on his own as an adult.

“His mother and I were sitting around one day and we were like what can we do for him?” Mills said.

They thought about how much their son loves snacks and suggested he start his own pretzel business. Moore wasted no time and began testing out flavors in the kitchen immediately.

Since the inception of Moore Crunch in October of 2022, Moore has sold over 600 bags of pretzels.

Several stores carry his product, and he said business is booming.

“The online orders have been coming in,” he said.

“Just to see how people have embraced him -- the social life that he never had and the opportunities that he never really had growing up, they’re coming to him now,” Mills said.

With his newfound success, Moore is thinking about next steps. He wants to find a commercial kitchen and hire other people with autism or disabilities to help him.

“Just help expand and show them how to do this give them that chance and opportunity,” Moore said, adding that it feels great to be an inspiration to others.

Moore sells his gourmet pretzels online at moorecrunch.com.