There’s a new twist to food offerings coming to the Nebraska Union.

Through a new corporate partnership, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels will join the new Subway Pizza Express in the union’s dining area. Subway Pizza Express — the second in the United States — is scheduled to open by March 1. Auntie Anne’s Pretzels will start operations in early April.

“Auntie Anne’s Pretzels is going to be a great addition to the food options the Nebraska Union offers the university community,” said Charlie Francis, director of the Nebraska Unions. “We are very fortunate to benefit from the agreement between Subway corporate and Auntie Anne’s corporate.”

Both Subway Pizza Express and Auntie Anne’s Pretzels will share the 682-square-foot space recently vacated by Sbarro. Barton Development of Lincoln will manage both businesses. Barton also manages the Subway sandwich location two doors down from the planned pizza/pretzel space.

“We are excited to add Auntie Anne’s to the Nebraska Union,” said Steve Barton, owner of Barton Development. “We look forward to being able to offer a whole gamut of food options to students and visitors to the Nebraska Union.”

Auntie Anne’s Pretzels was started in 1988 when Anne and Jonas Beiler purchased a Pennsylvania farmer’s market stand. Today, the company offers a variety of pretzel products, dipping sauces and signature beverages in more than 1,400 locations in 47 states and more than 25 countries.

The pretzels are baked fresh all day long and come in a variety of flavors, including original, cinnamon sugar, sweet almond, honey whole grain, sour cream and onion, and garlic.

The products are also sold in the traditional pretzel shape, as sticks and in bite-sized “pretzel nuggets.”

Both Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and Subway Pizza Express will offer fresh-made products.

The Subway Pizza Express location will feature a half-dozen toaster ovens and choose-your-own topping pizzas with a bake time of 50 seconds.

The addition of Subway Pizza Express and Auntie Anne’s corresponds with a $2.1 million redesign of the first floor of the Nebraska Union. The renovation is designed to improve traffic flow and update the appearance of the Nebraska Union to help with student recruitment.

Francis said the renovation continues to move forward, with the installation of new flooring starting soon.

The work included the opening of a renovated welcome center and coffee shop at the start of the spring 2014 semester.

Francis said the Crib space in the Nebraska Union will reopen by Feb. 10. At that time, a portion of the lounge space in the northwest corner of the union’s first floor will close down for renovations.

“We appreciate the patience students, faculty, staff and the public have had in response to our ongoing renovation,” Francis said. “The feedback we have received about the redesigned areas has been very positive.”