K&W fans, you’ll have to go a little farther for that pie

K&W Cafeteria, the family-owned company based in Winston-Salem, confirmed Friday that the longtime location at 7316 Independence Blvd. in Charlotte closed July 9.

Dax Allred, a member of the family that owns the company, said the location had a loyal customer base, but sales had declined. He wouldn’t speculate on what led to the drop and said the restaurant still had a lot of fans, just not enough to continue.

“Our business model is based on volume,” he said.

K&W is marking its 80th anniversary this year. It currently has more than 30 locations in North and South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Popular for cafeteria traditions like Southern-style vegetables and desserts, it also does a big business on Sundays and on holidays such as Thanksgiving.

Allred said that the restaurant had 49 employees when it closed. Several will transfer to the other Charlotte-area location, 8652 Pineville-Matthews Road in Pineville, and the company offered a job fair to help the others find new jobs. Allred said there are no plans to close the Pineville location, which is about 12 miles from the Independence Boulevard location.

While the company doesn’t have any plans to open another Charlotte location, Allred said they’re always scouting new locations in North Carolina and he wouldn’t rule out adding another Charlotte location in the future.

“I don’t want to say anything that would rule it out indefinitely,” he said.

This story was originally published July 14, 2017 at 11:10 AM with the headline "K&W fans, you’ll have to go a little farther for that pie."