See inside: Wells Fargo opens food hall, sports courts for employees in University City
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Wells Fargo has opened an employees-only food hall, a tech support station, pickleball courts and renovated auditoriums at its Customer Information Center in Charlotte's University area.
Why it matters: Wells Fargo hopes these amenities will inspire the roughly 10,000 employees at CIC to come into the office and improve workplace culture.
- Axios got a behind-the-scenes look at these exclusive spaces.
What's inside: The upgraded food hall replaces an outdated mall-style food court. It has 442 seats, seven different stations and a full culinary program, with fresh food prepared and served daily.
- Two stations—Roost, which serves chicken, and Chopped and Wrapped, which makes salads and wraps—will maintain relatively consistent menus, while hot and cold graze stations will rotate options.
- Wells Fargo's guest restaurant program will showcase local restaurants, such as Nawabi Hyderabad House Charlotte and Sweet Lew's BBQ.
- Haerfest Coffee, a Davidson-based roaster that employs people with disabilities, serves coffee.
- At the chef demonstration station, employees can watch their food being prepared via an overhead video screen.
- A reservable, 60-seat private dining room is designed like a bank vault.
Zoom out: A two-acre courtyard, which is currently under construction, will add about 40 seats when it opens later this year. It will have WiFi, a water feature and retractable walls that connect to the food hall when the weather is nice.
- Inside the food hall, a new Tech Express station—comparable to the Genius Bar in an Apple store—offers tech support to employees. Workers can access keyboards, headsets and other devices at a Tech Express vending machine.
- Outside, Wells Fargo has completed a 2,500-space parking garage, next to pickleball and basketball courts and a pavilion.
- Wells Fargo has renovated nine full floors at CIC, with another five in progress.
- The 2.1-million-square-foot CIC campus first opened in 1996.
What they're saying: "Everyone's job is difficult. This is your chance to break away and maybe something to look forward to," says Minnette Curl, amenities program manager.
Catch up quick: Since 2023, Wells Fargo has been on a five-year, $500 million undertaking to upgrade its assets in the Charlotte region. It's about 64% complete.
- That includes remodeling 14 floors at Three Wells Fargo Center at 401 S. Tryon and 21 floors at 550 S. Tryon, the former Duke Energy Center. Wells Fargo also opened new "Connections" spaces and a 20,000-square-foot food hall at 550.
Go deeper: See inside: Wells Fargo opens food hall for its 15,000 Uptown employees
Between the lines: Although based in San Francisco, Wells Fargo's largest employee hub is in Charlotte, with 27,000 people. Most are on a hybrid schedule, working from home up to twice a week.
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