Those in search of authentic Italian fare can soon find it in the heart of Mooresville.
Florence Wine & Beer Garden has found a home inside the Merino Mill business center at 500 S. Main St., in downtown Mooresville, owner Michal Bay confirmed to CharlotteFive.
The Lake Norman restaurant began welcoming guests Monday, Sept. 22, as part of its soft opening and will hold an official ribbon cutting ceremony on Oct. 7, according to a recent Instagram post.
Spanning 40,000 square-feet, Florence Wine & Beer Garden will offer traditional Italian cuisine alongside an assortment of wines from Italy, France and Spain. Guests will have their pick of fresh homemade pastas and chicken dishes, as well as fish, veal and beef.
At the grand opening, Bay said customers can enjoy their first plate of homemade pasta on the house.
We’ll have “some of the best steak in the world,” he said of the wagyu, adding: “We serve it with a spoon, not a knife.”
Florence Wine & Beer Garden is the latest to join the family of restaurants inside Merino Mill, including Alino Pizzeria, Barcelona Burger and Picasso Mediterranean. The latter, formerly known as Picasso Taqueria, was recently reimagined and now serves Mediterranean cuisine alongside a few taqueria favorites, CharlotteFive reported.
The menu was inspired by Bay’s summertime visits to Spain.
“We wanted to offer a bigger menu for the entire family,” he said at the time. “If the adults want salmon and seabass, but the kids want cheese quesadillas, everybody can leave happy.”
For his next venture, Bay is focused on breathing new life into a space that’s more than a century old and once housed a generator used to power the entire mill.
“We believe this is American heritage,” Bay told CharlotteFive of the building that will house his newest restaurant. “So we spent two years renovating, restoring and it just came out beautifully. Amazing.”
Guests of Florence Wine & Beer Garden can dine al fresco in its large, lush outdoor space replete with a pond with two fountains that’s 18 feet deep. Bay said the water feature was once used to cool the machinery in the generator.
“The ceilings are like 50-feet high,” he said of the restaurant’s interior. “We could have divided it into two floors, but I didn’t want to ruin the building. The building as it is is so beautiful.”
Customers will have much to look forward to once Florence Wine & Beer Garden is ready to open its doors.
“Authentic Italian flavors. The best steaks in town,” the restaurant said in a recent Instagram post. “Florence is bringing both — all under one roof. Opening soon, right here.”
Florence Wine & Beer Garden
Location: 500 South Main Street, Mooresville, NC
Cuisine: Traditional Italian/wine & beer garden
Instagram: @florence_wineandbeergarden