Written By: Darylanna Durkee
Photos: Ron Rouse
We all have that family-favorite dish we’re known for, the one everyone expects you to bring and no one has to ask. It’s the unspoken request at every holiday, potluck, or celebration. You know the one. You can share the recipe, write it down step by step, and it still won’t taste the same unless that person makes it.
For me, it’s my dad’s lamb lollipops. Whenever I head home to Colorado, he’s already planning my favorite: lamb lollipop fondue. He has everything written down: the exact cut of meat, the seasoning blend, even the cheese measured precisely to the ounce. And yet, when I recreate it in my own kitchen in North Dakota, something’s missing. It’s good, but it’s not his.
It’s as if the recipe gods know the heart and soul of that dish belong to him. Maybe it’s timing. Maybe it’s instinct. Or maybe it’s something harder to define; the kind of care and familiarity that can’t be captured on paper. Whatever it is, some recipes seem to belong to the person who makes them.
That’s a little how T’s Tangles began – not as a product idea or a carefully mapped-out business plan, but as a favorite family snack that Tanya Gust can trace back to a holiday party in 2013. Something made, shared, and loved long before it was ever sold.
When Tanya tells the story, it sounds like a mix between a potluck and a party brainstorm. And it begins the way many small businesses do, with a simple act of giving.
From a Holiday Batch to Business Beginnings
Those spicy pretzels were everything. Family and friends loved them, and their response signaled that this could be something more.
By 2013, it was. T’s Tangles were born.
At the time, Tanya was working three jobs with a schedule that was too demanding to sustain. She was turning away orders because she couldn’t get enough time in her rental kitchen. By 2014, she had built her first dedicated kitchen and quit one of her jobs to make room to grow the business.
For many small business owners, the juggle is the struggle. Early mornings, late nights, and weekends quickly fill up as creators work to build something of their own. That’s the part of entrepreneurship we don’t talk about enough. We hear about rapid growth, big wins, and overnight success. But for Tanya, success came through hard work and meeting every challenge – from logistics and paperwork to marketing and website design.
That’s what often gets missed when we pick up something delicious at a market. We taste the product, but not the story behind it. The invisible hours. The exhaustion. The persistence. The decision small business owners make repeatedly, even when they’re tired and the results aren’t there yet: just keep going anyway.
Built to Grow, Planned to Stay Small
For seven years, spicy pretzels were the anchor of T’s Tangles.
But like everyone in 2020, Tanya experienced supply chain disruptions that forced her to rethink parts of her business. As certain ingredients became harder to source, innovation took center stage.
Pretzels were still at the heart of it.
What followed was a new series of caramel clusters available in five flavors, including dark, milk and white chocolate, peanut butter, and the uniquely North Dakotan skotcharoo, paired with either spicy or cinnamon-sugar pretzels.
Today, the full lineup includes three flavors of pretzels, 12 flavors of caramel clusters, and three flavors of fudge.
Even with that growth, T’s Tangles has intentionally stayed small so each batch can be handcrafted. Everything is handmade, hand-stirred, and hand-poured. There are no employees. No shortcuts.
“I like knowing each batch equals quality,” Tanya says.
That doesn’t mean being small is easy. Tanya’s commercial kitchen is a dedicated space on her property, and her work follows a steady rhythm: pretzels one day, clusters the next, caramel the day after. Orders, packaging, shipping – always rotating, always adapting, always creating.
And always, still, doing it herself.
From Local to Faraway Favorite
Like that dish someone is known for, people talk about T’s Tangles.
For first-time customers, the reaction is often immediate: “These are the best I’ve ever had.”
After more than a decade, spicy pretzels still lead the way. Many first-time customers start with something sweet and familiar, but often come back for their new favorite, the spicy pretzels that started it all.
And that loyalty shows up in more than just repeat purchases. It shows up in how far these snacks have traveled. The business may be rooted in Minot, but the products have made their way to places like Paris and St. Lucia, tucked into suitcases, carried across miles, and shared with friends.
More Than a Product
At some point, the story shifts from pretzels to something bigger: community.
Businesses like T’s Tangles don’t exist in a vacuum. They exist because people choose them. They choose local.
That connection shows up in everything Tanya does, from collaborations with other Pride of Dakota businesses to supporting local fundraising efforts. It’s about investing in her business and in her community, because it’s home. It’s a cycle, and when it works, it strengthens everything around it.
“I work hard because I want my community to be proud of us, to be the best, and for that best to be here locally,” she says.
At its core, T’s Tangles isn’t just a story about pretzels and caramel clusters.
It’s about what happens when someone follows an idea far enough to watch it take shape and succeed. It’s about dedication, perseverance, and a genuine passion for small business. And it’s about what happens when we choose to support it.
Because supporting small businesses isn’t just about making a purchase, it’s about choosing community.
