The Peach Cobbler Factory is opening several stores in the Charlotte region but your first chance to try it starts this weekend in South End.
The Nashville-based dessert chain’s first-ever ghost kitchen will open Sunday at South End Eats at 500 W. Summit Ave., franchise co-owner Kareema Hunter said.
The store will offer delivery within a 5-mile radius through third-party apps, plus pickup with ordering online or at a kiosk on-site for walk-ins, Hunter said. A catering package, currently under development, is expected to launch April 1, Hunter said.
Hunter and franchise partner Vincent Montgomery will open four stores in the Charlotte area. She said they hope to open the first one by summer. Rather than being delayed finding locations or by construction, Hunter said they decided to test the ghost kitchen concept.
“While getting the first store open, this gives people in Charlotte a chance to try Peach Cobbler Factory,” said Greg George, co-owner of PCF Franchise LLC. “Its a Southern brand and people in the South like cobbler.”
More stores are in the Carolinas, including Durham in North Carolina and Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Indian Land and Columbia in South Carolina, according to the company. Peach Cobbler Factory plans to open 25 stores in the next 60 to 90 days, and 50 to 60 more by the end of the year in 14 states, George said.
What to expect
The Peach Cobbler Factory menu has three types of desserts:
▪ 12 cobbler flavors are each served warm in an 8 ounce cup topped with ice cream, George said. Flavors are: peach, cinnamon praline peach, strawberry peach, blackberry peach, mango peach, honey apple, caramel apple, apple walnut raisin, strawberry, blackberry and cherry, according to the company website.
▪ Four types of banana pudding: original, Oreo, red velvet and strawberry.
▪ Three cinnamon rolls: vanilla, Nutella and cobbler stuffed.
There’s also a peachy sweet tea and a cold brew coffee the company started in December.
“Cobbler and banana pudding are staples of the Southern diet,” George said.
Hours will be 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily, but could stay open later for late-night and after-dinner treat, Hunter said.
Each store is typically 1,000 to 1,500 square feet and hires about eight workers, according to the company.
Along with the desserts, the selfie wall stations are popular, George said.
Bringing Peach Cobbler Factory to Charlotte
Hunter moved to Charlotte from Atlanta to open the Peach Cobbler Factory stores.
“It’s so familiar and part of our culture,” she said of cobbler. “Everyone gets excited every time I mention it.”
Hunter said they’ve been social marketing coming to Charlotte since last year and people said “enough with the pictures, where’s the cobbler?”
Hunter, a behavior health specialist for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said following the last two years of pandemic stress, loss of family and friends to COVID-19 and then a house fire, she wanted to do something to make people happy.
“It just brings smiles,” she said of the cobbler business, getting choked up. “I know cobbler, everyone has their auntie who makes cobbler. It was the taste that sold on me this brand.”
More Peach Cobbler Factory stores
George partners with Peach Cobbler Factory founders husband and wife Juan and Tami Edgerton, who started the business in 2013.
There are six stores in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and one in North Carolina at Carolina Beach. George said since franchising started six months and they expect to open 100-plus in 14 states
Company officials said in October they plan to open over 1,000 corporate and franchise locations over the next 48 months.
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 12:16 PM.
