Swirl Dessert Bar Makes Bittersweet Decision To Scale Back Operations

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Since opening its Oakhurst location in 2019, Swirl dessert bar has seen its fair share of ups and downs. The business is a four time winner of the Charlotte Best of the Best Awards for “Best Cupcake.” Now business partners Curtis Stone and Maria Kremer are making the tough decision to shut down their Oakhurst (1640 Oakhurst Commons Drive) location.

The business move according to Stone is fueled by several factors including a tough climate for small businesses, inflation and marketing. Stone says, ” last summer we started struggling turning the engagement online and converting it into sales in store.  So trying to figure out where the people are, how they’re getting their information, and how to get them excited about converting online media to in-store sales… I think we’re still trying to figure out how that works now.”

Stone and his co business partner Kremer are waiting for another business to take over the Oakhurst space, but are still going full steam ahead, unveiling their latest project “Sugar and Storm,” a custom baked good order business that’s officially now up and running.