Firenza Pizza, a fast-casual chain that offers custom, made-to-order pizzas, has signed a development deal for five new stores in North Carolina.
The stores will be developed over the next four years with the first scheduled to open later this year in Charlotte. Company plans call for having as many as 10 area locations over the next several years.
“Charlotte is filled with enormous growth opportunity, and I am confident that Firenza is the perfect break from the typical pizza that the area is used to,” said Emily Wagner, who signed the development deal. “Firenza simply offers today’s demanding customers what they crave — originality, speed of service, customization and premium products — in a sophisticated and highly welcoming environment.”
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.
For the last 10 years, Wagner has been managing her family’s oil, gas and mineral assets, and has held various roles in the industry including lease negotiation and supervising the overall construction process. She also has served on the national and regional board of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO)—a non-profit organization promoting the rights and responsibilities of citizens who own natural resources in our country.
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.
Earlier this year, Firenza signed a master development agreement for up to 19 restaurants throughout Eastern North Carolina that will be developed over the next 10 years with targeted areas in Raleigh, Durham, Wilmington, Chapel Hill, and Greenville.
“We are thrilled to have Emily on board and to be able to continue tapping into North Carolina’s vibrant and dynamic market,” said Dave Wood, co-founder and CEO of Firenza. “This agreement is an important building block to making Firenza the leading build-it-your-own pizza restaurant.”
Touting “Pizza Like Never Before,” Firenza offers fresh-baked pizzas with unlimited toppings per customer’s choice, for one low price.
The pizza dough is made in-house daily and hand-stretched to order right in front of the customers. Customers can then customize their pizzas with unlimited toppings for one low price.
The nearly 40 toppings include – six signature sauces, seven cheeses, nine meats and 17 veggies. For those customers who don’t want to create their pizzas from scratch, Firenza also offers eight, chef-inspired signature pizzas. Once the 10 or 15 inch pizzas are assembled, they’re baked in an open flame stone-hearth oven and guaranteed to be done within five minutes.
