Background:
Your Pie was opened in 2008 by Drew French, after he visited his wife's family in a small town outside of Naples, where he fell in love with the simple and delicious art of wood-fired pizza. Today, Your Pie is a franchise with tons of locations across the Southeast and Midwest. Charlotte's very own Your Pie opened in July 2017 in Southend, and we were honored to be included on the invite for their media preview day. There are so many create-your-own pizza places in Charlotte now, but we really felt that Your Pie distinguished itself with its food and service.
Eat This:
Obviously, the name of the game is the create-your-own pizza, but if you aren't feeling particularly inspired, Your Pie has created some topping combinations for you. Ankor Patel, the owner of the Southend franchise, recommends the Southern Heat--a blend of buffalo sauce, chicken, red onions, mozzarella, and jalapenos. The pizzas can be made on white or wheat crust, or even a 50/50 blend of white and wheat if you want to go healthy, but you don't want your pizza to taste 100% like cardboard. All of the veggie toppings used at each franchise are locally sourced, and the freshness really comes through in each pie.
I got the white crust okay JUDGE AWAY
Not feeling pizza? How about a panini, or a salad in bread bowl? Salad in a bread bowl is a game changer for me--like, I want to be healthy and have vegetables and fiber and things, but you know: CARBS. Talk about the best of both worlds.
The bowl is BREAD/image courtesy of the YourPieClt Instagram page
The best thing we tried, though? Their cheesy bread sticks. These reminded me of eating Papa John's at middle school sleepovers, and I freaking loved it.
Dessert:
Part of what makes Your Pie stand out from the other pizza places like it, is their gelato and sorbet offerings. It seems as though most pizza places offer a shrink-wrapped cookie or brownie, and that's it. While Your Pie offers those trusty staples as well, their gelato steals the show. We tried the blood orange sorbet, which was perfect for a sweltering July day. I can't wait to get back and try some of their other flavors soon.
Drink:
In addition to soft drinks, Your Pie offers a large selection of wine and beer, and they always offer beers that are local to the franchise area.
Atmosphere:
There is ample seating, if you are not taking your pizza to go. A fun local touch? This beautiful green wall created by Torri from The Savage Way
Pizza, love, and hoppiness//image courtesy of the YourPieClt Instagram page
"Make Your Own" Hospitality:
Sometimes, the service at create-your-own places is lacking, and of course, there is always the completely legitimate concern that the employees are skimping on the topping options. This is not the case at Your Pie--you can rest assured they will load up your pizza with a smile.
Frankie's Notes:
Salad in a bread bowl solves the timeless conundrum of: I don't want to die of malnutrition, but I'm freaking starving; Southern Heat is also the name of Frankie's basketball team; Cheesy bread sticks plus John Hughes movies equals pure nostalgic joy; Shrink-wrapped desserts by the register are kind of sad, but it doesn't mean I won't eat them; There is nothing like the stress of watching an employee neglect to put enough cheese on your order.
Disclaimer: This meal was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are our own, and we were not compensated for this review.