FOUNTAIN INN — It was part of the plan from the very beginning, but the food hall at The Mill at Fountain Inn looks different than the original vision three years ago.
Still, founder and developer Bryan Beal is excited for what he hopes it will bring to the city he has grown to love.
The food hall at The Mill is slated to open Friday, Nov. 15. And with it, the final piece of the puzzle for the Flour Mill development will be set.
The Mill broke ground in February and opened with Fountain Inn Brewing Co., an events space and the expansive outdoors space that opened in June.
Since then, The Mill has already become a community gathering space hosting football watch parties, movie nights and other events.
But it wasn’t yet complete.
Now visitors will have more food options thanks to three new concepts: Bingbi Sushi, Birria Boy and Bistro 44.
Bingbi Sushi serves fresh, traditional and unique sushi rolls, nigiri, sashimi and poke bowls.
Birria Boy specializes in birria tacos, burritos, quesadillas and ramen, along with al pastor chicken and Mexican street corn.
Bistro 44 is operated by The Mill and will serve burgers, sandwiches, wraps, chicken wings, salads and soups.
The food will be complemented by a full bar that includes beers brewed just across the way at Fountain Inn Brewing.
The new food concepts add a needed element to The Mill. Beal hopes it will be a boon for the city, too. There are no sushi restaurants nor birria taco spots in Fountain Inn.
“At its core, I wanted to bring more variety and I wanted to fill gaps for Fountain Inn,” Beal explained. “What don’t we currently have?”
Initial plans for the food hall were for six different stalls and six different concepts, Beal said, but as the space crystalized, things changed. While The Mill has ample space for gathering and sitting outside, it made sense to create more indoor seating, Beal said.
This led to a reorganization of the food hall space. Instead of six different kitchens, it is set up as a ghost kitchen, whereby the three concepts share one big space. This also allows for greater flexibility when it comes to doing something different.
For instance, while Bistro 44 will serve more traditional pub fare, the kitchen is outfitted to allow the restaurant to serve almost anything.
“It created the ability to be more flexible and to bring more options, be seasonal, do things we think would be in the benefit of Fountain Inn,” Beal said.
With more seating and space, the food hall can also host events like holiday and local vendor markets, in addition to pop-up food concepts.
What's on the menu
This will be the second location of Bingbi Sushi. The first opened last year at Vaughn’s Warehouse, but the owners have operated a food truck since 2022. The Mill location will feature an identical menu to the Simpsonville location, though there could be some specials from time to time, owner Thian Thang said.
The premise of Bingbi is made-to-order sushi and poke bowls, he said, which means there is ample opportunity for customizing food. Also on the menu are “burritos,” with all the fillings of a poke bowl wrapped inside a large sheet of nori.
Bingbi grew out of owner Thian Thang’s desire to bring fresh sushi to the food truck realm while wanting a business that allowed him flexibility to participate in faith-based mission trips.
Thang’s sushi experience began when he was young, when he would help his father in his parents’ sushi concept in Tampa, Florida.
Thang landed in Greenville to attend Bob Jones University in 2014 and fell in love with the city. So when he returned in 2022, he knew it was where he wanted to stay.
While diners will find traditional sushi rolls on the Bingbi menu, they will also find some unique elements. The red ninja roll packs a punch with tuna, jalapenos, avocado, crab and hot Cheetos crunch.
“We try to make all the rolls so it gives us a little uniqueness and a flair,” Thang said.
Birria Boy may be a somewhat familiar name around the Upstate; its food truck opened in 2022. Now, the food truck has a permanent home at Scuffletown Food Truck Park, but owners saw opportunity to bring their distinct flavor to a brick-and-mortar space.
The menu centers on birria, which is available as tacos, quesadillas, burritos and ramen bowls.
Birria Boy has already tested the waters of The Mill by doing several pop-ups with the food truck. And while one can certainly find tacos in Fountain Inn, birria is harder to come by, Beal said.
Moving forward, The Mill will host more local business pop-ups and local vendor markets. Come December, Beal hopes to host a local baker who sells cookies.
The Mill will also accommodate a variety of small and larger events. The site is even slated to host a wedding next year.
The Food hall at The Mill will open 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 15. For more visit https://themillatfountaininn.com
Follow Lillia Callum-Penso on Instagram @lpenso
Reporter
Lillia Callum-Penso covers food for The Post and Courier Greenville. She spent over a decade as a reporter with The Greenville News where she covered business and food and won awards for her feature, profile and food writing. Outside work, Lillia can usually be found running to keep up with her very energetic twins.