Hi there, faithful Pies and Pints folks. I’m writing this message one day after we last visited our new space at 222 Capitol Street in Charleston. We just took our entire management team there to conduct a walkthrough of the planned renovations. Our hope was to gain a little perspective on the new Pies with some seasoned-but-fresh eyes.
Here’s the verdict: We will not be able to be open this summer without compromising our extremely high standards of service and food quality. We’re moving the grand opening to fall.
Like this, but open.
Most of you really, really like Pies & Pints in Fayetteville. And we know exactly how we’ve won your business: by assembling a team of highly qualified people in our kitchen and in our dining room, and by serving up the goods. Thanks to you, our customers, business has exploded in the seven years we’ve been in operation.
Most of you also know that Fayetteville thrives on a seasonal economy, which basically ends the day after Bridge Day. With that in mind, we’ve decided to push back the opening of our Charleston location until after Bridge Day (always the third Saturday in October). That way, we can use our Fayetteville team to help with all the ins and outs of opening of the Charleston restaurant.
And that just makes sense. We want to bring you the best we can. And they’re in Fayetteville right now. They will be until the fall.
Charleston, listen- we love you. Things are moving along pretty much as planned. Renovations are in progress, licenses are in place, staffing is in progress and backing is plentiful. We’ll just be a little later in opening, to ensure our high standards are there at our new location on day one. We are definitely coming.
Something to keep in mind, too, is that we’re new to this. We’ve never opened a second location. Our goal isn’t just to sell pizza and beer; We want to be a pillar of what we see as that rebirth and renaissance of downtown Charleston (and also sell a lot of pizza and beer). Just take a look at our neighbors. We’re sharing the block with Taylor Books and Ellen’s Ice Cream, two businesses who’ve helped build the downtown we’re becoming a part of. If we want to be up to the task, we better make sure we do it right.
Sincerely folks, we only want to provide you with impeccable service, handcrafted pizza, and premium beer. So we’re going to take some extra time, fine tune our kitchen, polish our silverware, and aim for a late October early November opening. Thanks, and we’ll see you in the glorious West Virginia fall.
P.S. We’re working on something interesting to make up for the delay. Something very… Pies-And-Pints-ish. Details to come, everybody.