Tijuana Flats heading to old Italian Pie building

A new Tex-Mex restaurant is moving into the former Italian Pie location on East Boulevard.

Tijuana Flats is planning to reenter the Charlotte market with a 2,700-square-foot location at 1608 East Boulevard. The restaurant is expected to open near the end of the year, the company said.

There are plans for two more Tijuana Flats locations in Charlotte in the near future, the company said, and ultimately the region could have 15 or so locations. There are three Tijuana Flats in the Raleigh-Durham area, and a fourth is being built near Duke University.

“North Carolina has become a focus of growth and we are very excited to have our first Charlotte store on East Blvd.,” said Tijuana Flats real estate manager Matthew Livingston, in a statement. “We are now committed to growing our Charlotte presence.”

Tijuana Flats made a run at Charlotte before, with restaurants on Prosperity Church Road and Pineville-Matthews Road in Charlotte and on Gilead Road in Huntersville. Those restaurants all apparently closed several years ago.

On East Boulevard, the company will be joining a line-up of Tex-Mex restaurants that includes Moe's, Longboard's Tap and Taco, and Cantina 1511.

Here's Tijuana Flats' description, for those of you unfamiliar with Tijuana Flats: "Established in 1995 in Winter Park, Fla., Tijuana Flats is a unique, fast-casual Tex-Mex dining experience featuring superior guest service and fresh, made-to-order food. Tijuana Flats has 93 locations in Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The restaurants are typically found in high-traffic areas and average 2,400 square feet."


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