New Stoner’s Pizza Joint to blaze in Charlotte as first NC location opens
A Florida-based pizza chain established its first location in North Carolina in uptown’s Queen City Quarter, and opened last week.
Stoner’s Pizza Joint is an herb-themed pizza chain headquartered in Fort Lauderdale that has 32 locations across the Southeast and Colorado. It entered the North Carolina market with an agreement to open three locations in Charlotte.
The first opened Aug. 24 in Queen City Quarter, providing options for dine-in and carry-out as well as food delivery services such as UberEats and DoorDash.
The Queen City Quarter location was planned to open in the fall, but began taking orders early to test the market, franchisee Hunter Morris said.
Morris also franchises several locations in Charleston and Columbia, said Scott Mobley, the chief operating officer of Stoner’s.
“We just wanted to pop up online and see what would happen,” he said. “We’ve been very pleased with the outcome.”
Now Morris is waiting for Queen City Quarter to finish construction, he said. Later in the fall, they will start their bar service.
Two other locations are planned to open over the next two years in the Charlotte area, but there are no sites picked out yet.
The franchise’s tongue-in-cheek branding and late-night hours target college towns. The company plans on expanding further, with a goal to more than triple its locations by 2025.
About Queen City Quarter
Queen City Quarter on College Street was once Epicentre, a key piece of uptown’s redevelopment in 2008. It featured popular nightlife and entertainment, but closed after the owner defaulted on a $85 million loan.
Since Epicentre’s foreclosure last year, it is being revitalized as a renamed retail and restaurant center.
Property management group CBRE started construction on the property in May, with major changes planned. That includes a shift in business from only nightlife to day-to-night businesses that appeal to uptown residents and nearby hotel guests.
Other businesses in Queen City Quarter include a selfie museum called Portal CLT, which opened this year, Bowlero bowling alley and multiple restaurants.
This story was originally published June 16, 2023 at 12:20 PM.
