Stoner's Pizza Joint, a Millennial-focused, quick-service pizza franchise, opened its new flagship and prototype location in Columbia, S.C. in January. The new restaurant marks the brand’s fourth location in the state.
The 1,500-square-foot restaurant prototype features an energy-efficient design with LED lights throughout, an Instagram “selfie” area and a focal wall tailored to the local community. The Columbia restaurant's focal wall highlights the University of South Carolina’s basketball team.
Stoner’s Pizza Joint was founded in 2013 and is now owned by holding company HospitalityX, parent company to other restaurant brands including Charbar Co. and Whiskey Room. Drew Ciccarelli and Nick Bergelt developed and launched Stoner's Pizza Joint's franchising program in 2018 with the goal of growing the brand's footprint to 100 locations by 2023. HospitalityX owns nine Stoner’s Pizza Joint locations. Since the launch, Stoner's has continued to identify the Southeast region as a key market for expansion with plans to open a new location in Valdosta, Ga., in February and another South Carolina location in March.
The brand also signed a franchise agreement in Florida to develop two new restaurants and will be opening its new convenience store prototype in Nacogdoches, Texas, in the coming months.
