New pizza ‘joint’ to blaze in Charlotte as first NC location
A Florida-based pizza chain is establishing its first location in North Carolina in uptown’s Queen City Quarter.
Stoner’s Pizza Joint is an herb-themed pizza chain headquartered in Fort Lauderdale that has 32 locations across the Southeast and Colorado. It will enter the North Carolina market with an agreement to open three locations in Charlotte. The first opens this fall in Queen City Quarter.
Hunter Morris, the franchisee of several locations in Columbia and Charleston is looking to expand, and Charlotte was the next step, said Scott Mobley, the chief operating officer of Stoner’s.
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.
