Food and Drink

Italian food, oysters, juice bar? This Lake Norman spot just might become a favorite.

MV2 Investments $23 million mill mixed-use project Mill One in Mooresville includes apartments and ground floor commercial space adjacent to Liberty Park.
MV2 Investments $23 million mill mixed-use project Mill One in Mooresville includes apartments and ground floor commercial space adjacent to Liberty Park. MV2 Investments

Mill One, a converted 1890s textile mill in Mooresville that overlooks Liberty Park and its open-air amphitheater, is one of Lake Norman’s newest up-and-coming dining hot spots.

The $23 million project by MV2 Investments includes a four-story apartment building that has about 33,000-square-foot of ground floor commercial space for 14 tenants — a mix of restaurants, retail and offices. Each restaurant offers views and seating looking toward the renovated park.

Three restaurants, along with a juice bar and other businesses, are now under development on Mill One’s first floor, joining Mikula Salon and Spa and Acqua Ragazza.

Additional restaurants on Mill One’s list of future attractions include Eatabowl, a rice and noodle bowl, sushi and ramen place that established a following in its previous Main Street location.

Here’s what you can expect at Mill One:

Acqua Ragazza

Location: 201 N. Church St Suite 102, Mooresville NC 28115

Acqua Ragazza, serving traditional Italian cuisine with a full-service bar and social area, was the first restaurant to make its debut at Mill One.

You can expect traditional Italian food such as calamari, gnocchi sorrento and octopus carpaccio. Along with tasty food dishes, customers can order custom cocktails like Tuscan Tea, which is made with Italian Galliano liqueur, an herbal mixture of juniper berries and Madagascar vanilla.

Acqua Ragazza Italian restaurant will open June 16 at Mill One, 201 N. Church St. in downtown Mooresville.
Acqua Ragazza Italian restaurant will open June 16 at Mill One, 201 N. Church St. in downtown Mooresville. MV2 Investments/file photo

Buah Juice Bar

Location: 201 N. Church St Suite 105, Mooresville NC 28115

Buah Juice Bar is the latest to hang a sign as a committed coming attraction at Mill One. This all-organic juice bar is set to make its debut at the end of August. In the meantime, staff have been working out the kinks by giving free samples of its refreshing juices to Mill One apartment tenants.

The juice bar will also have wellness shots, smoothies and smoothie bowls. Fresh ingredients include cucumbers, pineapple and much more.

Eatabowl

Location: 201 N. Church St Suite, Mooresville NC 28115

Eatabowl is an Asian food hall-inspired restaurant concept serving street food and dessert in a spacious seating area with a boba tea lounge. It is set to open in the fall.

This casual pit stop specializes in Asian comfort food such as rice and noodle bowls, plus sushi and ramen. A customer favorite in its previous location was the Curry Surprise Noodle Bowl, which includes chicken, herbs, string beans and savory coconut curry broth.

Rio 150

Location: 201 N. Church Street, Mooresville, 28115

Voted as “most authentic Mexican Food” in Lake Norman two years in a row, Rio 150 is a local, family-owned restaurant with Tijuana-style cuisine.

Known for its Quesabirra tacos, customers can also expect a variety of Mexican favorites like tacos and fajitas. Customers can wash it down with Rio 150’s huge house margaritas with flavors such as strawberry, lime and more. Before it opens at Mill One, you can check out its other location in the meantime.

Quesabirria tacos at Rio 150.
Quesabirria tacos at Rio 150. Creart Design Studio

Savannah Oyster Co.

Location: 201 N. Church St Suite 100, Mooresville NC 28115

The Savannah Oyster Co., a seafood restaurant with an upscale raw bar and classic cocktail menu, is launching at Mill One in late summer 2023. It is owned by Jason Tuton of Barrel and Fork in Cornelius.

You can expect caviar, mussels, neck clams and fresh farm-raised and wild-caught seafood from the East Coast.

Savannah Oyster Co. will be located at 201 Church St., Suite 100, in Mooresville.
Savannah Oyster Co. will be located at 201 Church St., Suite 100, in Mooresville. Savannah Oyster Co.
Denise Casalez
The Charlotte Observer
Freelancer Denise Casalez was a summer news intern for CharlotteFive, reporting on the food, arts and culture that this city has to offer. This Charlotte native is finishing up her senior year at Appalachian State University with a B.S. in Journalism and has experience reporting in Nashville, Washington D.C., and Boone. When she’s not chasing stories, Denise loves to play guitar and check out the local music scene with her friends. She’s also a fur mom to a blind tuxedo cat, Oreo. You can find her on Instagram @denisevrios. Support my work with a digital subscription
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