This restaurant with a wood-fired food focus is now open at its newest Charlotte area location
A pineapple-topped, illuminated glass display offers a drink on one side of the bar. A rainbow wall has countless more on the other side. Wood-fire steaks ferry from the kitchen to waiting booths and window-front tables.
Fort Mill gets its first taste of Firebirds Wood Fired Grill as it opened its new location in Fort Mill on Aug. 26 at Mills Crossing on S.C. 160, bringing smoky flavors and a fiery focus.
The restaurant with Charlotte roots is the second South Carolina location. Other area locations include restaurants in SouthPark, StoneCrest at Piper Glen, Northlake and Huntersville.
“It’s been in the works for years,” Firebirds’ Eleni Kouvatsos told CharlotteFive. “York County is such a fast-growing county, I think one of the fastest growing in the Carolinas, so it’s a natural fit for us. As the community grows and the population grows, the latest and greatest in retail, business and restaurants are really starting to look at that area, and I think it’s because there’s easy access to all the outdoor activities that side of the border has to offer.”
The menu features appetizers and soups, steaks, seafood dishes, chicken, ribs and Tomahawk pork chop entrees, plus burgers, sandwiches and salads. The restaurant also offers a three-course meal option, which features one starter, one entree and one dessert.
The bar menu features cocktails and mocktails to go along with its own selection of bar foods like sliders and nachos. There will also be a brunch menu that starts at 11 a.m. on the weekends featuring breakfast entrees and brunch cocktails.
What sets Firebirds apart from similar chain restaurants is its use of an open flame to cook its food, sourcing local wood from oak to pecan as fuel. That gives the food a smoky flavor profile that you don’t get from cooking on steel flat tops.
Kouvatsos said the Fort Mill location is going to lean into this, building a 700-square-foot outdoor patio facing S.C. 160 that features a huge outdoor fireplace acting as a “beacon” to passing traffic.
There‘s also be another structure inside the restaurant that the restaurant hopes catches the eyes of customers called the FIREBAR.
“The FIREBAR in Fort Mill is going to be this big horseshoe-shaped bar,” Kouvatsos said. “Then there’s going to be a waterfall of liquors that are backlit in different colors, and it just kind of highlights our liquor and cocktail offerings ... When people walk into the restaurant in Fort Mill, between the patio and the FIREBAR, there’s floor-to-ceiling windows, so you’ll able to see that waterfall of color and spirits whether you’re sitting inside or outside.”
Firebirds was founded in 2000 in Charlotte at its StoneCrest location on Rea Road. The new opening will be the brand’s 63rd restaurant.
Firebirds Wood Fired Grill
Location: 2147 SC-160 Fort Mill, SC 29708
Cuisine: American
Instagram: @firebirdsgrill
This story was originally published July 26, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
