FlagLIVE! November 20, 2025
Written by Gail G. Collins
So, if at only 22 years old, a gal can take a year off from college to open her own restaurant, what could she do for an encore? By 24, she could go back to school to complete her degree while maintaining her endeavor even as she buys and opens a second restaurant. Christa Freeman is that irrepressible, enthusiastic entrepreneur with an unflappable smile.
Freeman had previously worked at Juice Pub as well as Oeno, which is located next door, before interning at a New Mexico ranch. Returning to Flagstaff, she noticed Juice Pub was for sale. Despite attendance at Northern Arizona University, she made the unusual decision to buy the place.
Looking to her parents to invest, she had serious talks with them, her grandparents and others.
“I wanted to do it, and they believed I could do it if I put my mind to it,” Freeman said. “I took a year off of school to figure it all out, then went back to NAU in the midst of it, and then, in December, bought Urban Pine,” and, in another whoosh of words, she added, “How did we get through it?”
Freeman admits it was scary starting from the ground up. “But people have been so great. The place is popping always. It’s outdoing what I thought!”
Read more: A slice of ambition: Christa Freeman builds flavor and community at Urban Pine EateryThe newly graduated owner of two eating establishments in the heart of historic downtown Flagstaff confessed that no one in the family has experience in the food industry beyond a former familial franchise investment. Like other students, Freeman gathered experience working front of the house positions.
“I am not a chef, but many items are family recipes,” she said. “I listened to what people want in town, and they said, ‘There are a lack of salads,’ so we make dressings fresh and handmade with protein options to boost it. We work mainly with students, so our aim is: What can we create and be affordable with great products to appeal to students, tourists and downtown workers?”
The classic menu of pizzas and salads and subs is a winner. Though Italian by design, the item choices run the gamut of trends and regions. The house creation salads come in two sizes, ranging from Little Rome—a standard Caesar—to Kale Crave—greens mixed with walnuts, feta and local fig dressing—to Arugula Orchard—a blend of apple, feta, red onions, walnuts and prickly pear vinaigrette. Most popular, the Superfood Boost builds a bed of spinach, topping it with avocado, black beans, corn, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, corn nuts, tomato, feta and parmesan, drizzled with cilantro lime vinaigrette.
The flatbread pizzas run from simple, a Tuscan Sunrise—a margherite with fresh basil—to wild, the Buffalo Bliss with alfredo, chicken and buffalo drizzle. Customers, though, rave about Sweet Heat, pairing up pepperoni with jalapeño, chili flakes and honey drizzle.
“We like drizzles,” Freeman joked. “People love something extra on their food or to dip.”
The Mediterranean Delight flatbread piles pesto with feta, mushroom, black olives and arugula. “Veggie people love it—it’s like a salad built on bread.” Freeman also encourages customers to create their own salads and flatbreads with a list of ingredients on offer.
When Urban Pine opened in February, it served a traditional meatball sub, but its success spurred expansion to include the Herbivore, Chicken Parm and more. Their signature knots are hand-tied to order, spiced with cinnamon or garlic plus marinara for dipping. As for sweets, the banana pudding is unapologetically, old-fashioned comfort food. Made once a week when the shop first opened, Freeman can’t keep up with demand now.
Housed in the previous Pita Pit space, Urban Pine Eatery is designed to bring people together with the welcome of warm wood in the long bar and wall-mounted cutting boards. In the limited kitchen area, everything is cooked on display. The shop seats 18, but spills out onto a dog-friendly patio. To extend their reach and free up seats, Urban Pine delivers food to Mountaintop Tap Room, Hops on Birch and Drinking Horn Meadery, benefitting guests in all locations.
The corner shop runs Happy Hours from 2 to 5 p.m. with the cheapest soda in town. It also helps with fundraisers, offering gift card donations and percentage-back schemes, plus collaborative efforts with restaurant owners.
According to Freeman, Urban Pine Eatery is a fresh take on flavor with every bite made to satisfy amongst laid-back vibes. “Thanks for coming and giving us a try and for all the great feedback,” she said. “I just love community, and the work I do is a lot of fun!” FLGLive!