Bill Phelps cofounded Wetzel's Pretzels with Rick Wetzel in 1994. The two built the famous snack brand over a twenty-five-year period and had multiple transactions with private equity firms before selling to a public company in 2022. Bill was a founding investor and Board Member of Blaze Pizza, which was created by Rick and Elise Wetzel in 2011 and sold to a private equity firm in 2017. In 2019, Bill became CEO of Dave's Hot Chicken, which had been started in a parking lot by three friends with $900 in 2017. Dave's became the fastest growing restaurant brand in the United States and was sold to Roark Capital for $1 Billion in 2025. Bill Phelps is now the Executive Chairman of Dave's and a major investor in two new restaurant concepts: Mike's Red Tacos and Batch & Box Cookies.