Sweetgreen, the fast-casual salad chain with a cult-like following, will open its first North Carolina location in Uptown this summer.

Context: Sweetgreen is known for its creative salads and bowls, many of which are made with locally grown produce.

Why it matters: Sweetgreen is one of those popular national chains that Charlotteans have long clamored for — along with retailers like Zara and Wegmans.

• Plus, the fact that the company picked Uptown is a vote of confidence for the continued post-pandemic recovery of Charlotte’s central business district.

Details: The 2,900-square-foot Sweetrgeen will be at 101 North Tryon St. in the same building at Trade and Tryon where Monarch Market and Portofino’s will be.

• Crescent Communities and Nuveen Real Estate, the owners of 101 North Tryon, also known as One Independence Center, have spent millions renovating the property over the years, clearing the way for new retailers on the ground floor.

Flashback: A group of Georgetown students opened the first Sweetgreen on M Street in Washington, D.C., in 2007. The chain expanded rapidly, opening up in essentially every major U.S. metro over the years. In 2021, the company went public.

Zoom in: Axios HQ in D.C. runs on Sweetgreen. There’s literally one on the ground floor of their building.

What they’re saying: The California-based company chose Charlotte because “it has a customer profile that’s been asking for a Sweetgreen for a long time,” Sweetgreen senior vice president Stephanie Traut told Axios.

• “As we looked to expand nationwide, Charlotte had long been a target market with its blossoming food culture, banking and business hub and growing metro city,” Traut said.