An “express” version of Portofino’s Ristorante Italiano e Pizzeria is heading uptown. The popular Italian restaurant’s fifth location in Charlotte will open on the ground level of the recently renovated One Independence Center in spring 2024. Portofino’s will serve its pizza, pastas and sandwiches in the 2,500-square-foot restaurant, with both dine in and grab-and-go service.

It will sit nearby Monarch Market, an 18,000-square-foot food hall within One Independence Center. “We have been looking to add an Uptown location for almost two decades, but we didn’t find the right opportunity until now,” Portofino’s owner Josh Coppola said. More change is on the way to the area, as well.