The Nashville-based pizza chain Slim + Husky's is preparing to expand into Chattanooga next week as the anchor of a three-story retail and office complex at M.L. King Boulevard and Mabel Street.
The nation's largest Black-owned pizza chain, Slim + Husky's Pizza, will open its newest eatery Thursday at 401 M.L. King Blvd. near downtown and the UTC campus as the company's 10th location. The restaurant will feature a full-service bar, a live performance stage and a late-night window, which will begin operations later this summer.
With its mantra "Pizza (and Progress) Rules Everything Around Me," Slim + Husky has grown from its original Nashville restaurant over the past five years to add new outlets elsewhere in the Nashville area, plus other locations in Murfreesboro, Memphis, Atlanta and Sacramento, California.
Co-founders Clint Gray, Derrick Moore and EJ Reed, all graduates of Tennessee State University, said in an announcement of the new Chattanooga pizza outlet that they try to locate in areas where they can connect with the community. The founders pledged to open a location in Chattanooga three years ago, but the pandemic slowed some of their expansion plans.
"The S+H team is proud to bring our homegrown, artisan pizza brand (infused with music, art and fashion) to the Chattanooga community," Gray, the chain's chief marketing officer, said in a statement about the restaurant opening.
The Chattanooga restaurant will also be the first Slim + Husky's equipped with multiple kiosks offering digital ordering capabilities to customers. In addition to enjoying Slim + Husky's award-winning pizza, customers can view artwork throughout the restaurant's interior, curated by artists Julius Hubbard, of Chattanooga, Jasmine Strickland, of Miami, and LeXander Bryant, of Nashville.
Slim and Husky's menu features custom-built artisan pizzas, made-to-order salads and cinnamon rolls. The new eatery will offer Chattanooga educators 50% off during a Teacher Soft Opening event Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Gray said Slim + Husky's is known for its blend of artisan pizza, hip-hop/R&B and art. The new restaurant will include an S+H Flavors Wall featuring Nike and Slim + Husky's-inspired shoe designs by Bexclusives from Oakland, California, as well as an exterior mural tribute to the late Off White founder, Virgil Abloh, designed by artist Gallery Sym from Atlanta.
The new restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
In addition to dine-in and carry-out, delivery options will be available through Uber Eats and DoorDash.
The restaurant is the anchor for a $2 million, three-story office building erected by developers Travis Lytle and Robert Parks.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340. Follow on Twitter at @dflessner1.