With one location already open and operating in Charlotte, Firenza Pizza, an innovative restaurant brand touting “Pizza Like Never Before,” is expanding its local footprint even further. The Virginia-based franchise is set to open its second Charlotte location in June.
The new restaurant—located at 6925 University City Blvd. Suite 420—will specialize in hand-crafted, made-to-order pizza and will be owned and operated by Emily Wagner, who is slated to open five restaurants throughout the Charlotte area.
The new location will celebrate its grand opening June 5—June 10. Guests will receive a free signature or up to 4 topping 10-inch pizza when they make a $2 donation to EmpowHERment or Safe Alliance.
In addition, the first 10 people in line on Friday, June 8, 2018 and Saturday, June 9, 2018 will get free pizza for a year.
“The Charlotte area is experiencing a culinary explosion and we are extremely excited to get in on the action,” says Wagner. “Firenza simply offers today’s demanding customers what they crave—originality, speed of service, customization and premium products—in a sophisticated and welcoming environment. We’re confident that the local community will fall in love with Firenza’s level of customization and quality products.”
After graduating from Miami University with a degree in Business and Food Service, Wagner worked for Proctor and Gamble before taking 20 years off to be a stay-at-home mother. Wagner decided to follow her passion for the food service industry and get back to her roots in the restaurant space.
Wanting to start a legacy that can be passed down to her children and grandchildren, Wagner decided to leave rural Ohio, and venture to the booming market of Charlotte, NC.
Firenza specializes in truly hand crafted and made-to-order pizzas that can be customized with nearly 40 fresh toppings including house roasted garlic, creamy mozzarella ovalini and your favorite meats. For those customers who don’t want to create their pizzas from scratch, Firenza also offers ten chef-inspired signature pies ranging from the Primavera Fresca loaded with healthy vegetables, the Big Kahuna featuring smoked ham, bacon and tropical pineapple or the award-winning Chipotle Chicken topped with crema and fresh pico de gallo. Once the pizzas are assembled, they’re baked in an open flame stone-hearth oven and guaranteed to be done within five minutes.
Signature 10-inch pizzas start at $8.99 14-inch pizzas are also available starting at $12.99.
While convenience and price are important selling points, the priority for Firenza is phenomenal pizza. “Unlike most other fast casual pizza chains where the crusts are premade and machine-pressed, our pizza dough is made in house and hand-stretched to order right in front of the guest,” Wagner says.
In addition to pizza, the restaurant offers diners customizable salads, oven baked wings, homestyle meatballs, breadsticks, local craft beer, wine and more.
Restaurant hours are daily from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.