Restaurant chain expands into Charlotte, serving popular Detroit-style pizza

A new Plaza Mdiwood restaurant expects to start dishing out the square Detroit-style pizza craze this summer in Charlotte.

Emmy Squared will fill the 4,200-square-foot Central Avenue location formerly occupied by Fifteen Ten Antiques and Consignment. The restaurant owners are working with Asana Partners and Thrift Commercial Real Estate.

This will be the first North Carolina location for Emmy Squared, which is based in New York.

“We wanted to expand our footprint up and down the East Coast,” Emmy Squared CEO and partner Howard Greenstone said. “And, Midwood Plaza fits the vibe of our restaurant.”

Emmy Squared’s Detroit-style pizza is similar to the Sicilian, Greenstone said, a deep dish with a fluffy crust and crispy cheese baked on the sides. Sauce stripes are applied after baking.

He said one of the most popular pizzas, called the colony, is jalapeno and pepperoni drizzled with honey and a red sauce. “It’s a pepperoni pizza with a twist,” he said. ”A lot of our toppings are creative.”

Greenstone said while Emmy Squared is known for its pizza, it also has burgers, salads and a full cocktail list. “It’s not your typical pizzeria. It’s not a cookie-cutter restaurant,” he said.

Expect prices to range from $13 to $19 for pizza and up to $16 for burgers.

The restaurant will hire 30 to 50 full- and part-time employees, with hiring expected to begin in late spring or early summer.

Greenstone said with revenue being down up to 70% because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the takeout and delivery service has been “tremendous.”

Brooklyn roots

The first Emmy Squared restaurant opened in 2016 in Brooklyn, New York, by co-founders Matt and Emily Hyland. Greenstone and Ken Levitan soon became partners. There are now two more New York City locations, plus ones in Nashville, Tennessee, ; Louisville, Kentucky; Philadelphia; and Washington, D.C. An Atlanta restaurant also is planned.

Still, Greenstone said Emmy Squared doesn’t consider itself a chain and none of its restaurants look alike.

In Charlotte, the front room of the restaurant will have booth seating and the backroom, being designed by D3 Studio in Charlotte, will have a full bar and an “old-fashioned bar room” atmosphere, Greenstone said. An alley space will become a patio space.

“We picked Midwood Plaza to immerse ourselves in the community and neighborhood,” Greenstone said.