Charlotte-based Hickory Tavern chain sold to a Florida group expanding in Carolinas

Charlotte restaurant chain Hickory Tavern has a new, out-of-state owner.

Artistry Restaurants acquired the 28-year-old sports bar and grill as the Winter Park, Florida, as the restaurant investor expands into the Carolinas, Nation’s Restaurant News reported Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Artistry has six other restaurant brands, mostly in Florida, as well as in Alabama and Mississippi. With Hickory Tavern, Artistry will manage 50 locations.

Officials with Artistry and Hickory Tavern were not made available to requests for comment from The Charlotte Observer.

About Hickory Tavern

Hickory Tavern, with 20 sites in North Carolina and South Carolina, has been undergoing a major transformation since 2023 after hiring CEO Mark Eason, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. Those changes have included menu and kitchen overhauls.

The first Hickory Tavern opened in 1997 in Hickory, an hour north of Charlotte. Co-founders Brad Smith and Tommy Hager sold an interest in the tavern to New York City-based Rosser Capital in 2014.

About half of Hickory Tavern’s restaurants are in the Charlotte region. Hickory Tavern has about 1,200 full- and part-time employees.

Artistry has named Paul Zito as president of the Hickory Tavern brand. Zito, former president of Z Team Consulting in Myrtle Beach, will report to Jason Brooks, chief operation officer of Artistry Restaurants.