Food and Drink

European-style cocktail bar brings ‘warm wishes & cold drinks’ to Charlotte

Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways

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  • Sala opens in Eastover with European wines and light Italian-inspired bites.
  • Bruce Moffett adds Sala to his restaurant group, expanding local footprint.
  • Lounge features 13-seat bar, private event space and personalized service focus.

A new bar and lounge is coming to Charlotte, promising guests “warm wishes & cold drinks.”

Sala, a new European-style cocktail lounge, opens Sept. 18, next door to sister restaurant Stagioni in the Eastover neighborhood. It will take over the former Toccare Day Spa space.

Inspired by Charlotte’s prohibition-era, it features a 11-seat bar, 20-seat lounge and private event space upstairs. Sala, along with Stagioni, is located inside the historical villa of the late Charlotte socialite Blanche Reynolds-Gourmajenko.

The elegant interior of an upscale bar with an Art Deco feel. A long, white marble bar is the centerpiece, with a row of brown leather bar stools in front. The back bar features three illuminated, arched alcoves filled with bottles. Bartenders are seen preparing drinks, and a large bouquet of flowers sits on the counter.
The bar at Sala. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive
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Guests can expect an assortment of wines from Greece, Spain and France, along with a few from Italy.

Classic and seasonal cocktails will be available, including Berry Bliss (vodka, blackberry basil simple, lemon and sparkling wine), Gin Flowers (gin, vodka, Lillet, elderflower and grapefruit) and Sunset Pome (bourbon, pomegranate, lemon and honey simple).

And of course, it wouldn’t be a European cocktail experience without the lounge’s nine types of Negronis, nine variations on the Spritz, and an large selection of Aperitifs.

The historical villa of the late Charlotte socialite Blanche Reynolds-Gourmajenko is located on Providence Road in Charlotte. Currently home to restaurants and a salon,
The historical villa of the late Charlotte socialite Blanche Reynolds-Gourmajenko is located on Providence Road in Charlotte. Currently home to restaurants and a salon, Google Street View

The menu also includes light bites from cured meats and cheeses to stuffed peppers, dips and spreads.

“I like to take people out of their comfort zones and introduce them to things that they haven’t tried,” owner and cheff Bruce Moffett told CharlotteFive when the lounge was announced.

A friendly-looking restaurant owner with a beard stands in a private dining room while wearing a casual plaid button-down shirt. The restaurant interior is chic, with custom blue-grey booths, mirrored shelving and an elaborate amber-colored chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
Sala by Stagioni chef and owner Bruce Moffett stands inside the cocktail lounge’s private room upstairs. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive
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Sala is Moffett’s latest venture, adding to his Moffett Restaurant Group collection that includes Stagioni, Barrington’s and Good Food on Montford.

“I want to build on what we have at Stagioni, where my staff know everyone who walks in,” he previously told CharlotteFive. “They know their name, they know about their family, they know what they like to eat and they know what they like to drink. I want to keep that rolling.”

A sweeping view of an elegantly decorated lounge. Along the walls is a dark blue-green, channel-tufted banquette, while the center of the room features pairs of light green club chairs. The dark walls are hung with abstract art, and on the left, an arched nook is decorated with a pattern of gold tiles.
The lounge area at Sala. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive

A space with a lot of history

“I’d like Sala to continue what we started with Stagioni,” Moffett said in a statement sent to CharlotteFive on Tuesday, Sept 16. “By returning a little bit of that golden-age luster through a thoughtful restoration and our personal approach to hospitality.”

It’s the perfect location for it: Socialite Reynolds-Gourmajenko was known for throwing lavish parties at her villa, CharlotteFive previously reported.

From the perspective of a diner, a large wine wall features multiple tiers of wooden shelves. The shelves are packed with a vast and organized collection of wine bottles. Warm backlighting from the ceiling illuminates the top row. The corner of a white marble table is visible in the foreground.
The wine wall at Sala. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive

“Our staff knows the neighborhood well, and our many regular customers by name,” Moffett said on Tuesday. “That means our guests feel welcome... at home here ... and while we may not go as far as Blanche did (with nude poetry readings), we like to think that we push the creativity in the kitchen and behind the cocktail bar.”

A wide shot of the entrance to Sala by Stagioni restaurant. A low, white stucco wall is in the foreground. The building itself has a matching stucco exterior with large, arched windows and a glass door. A deep blue awning extends over the storefront, with the restaurant’s name printed in white.
Sala by Stagioni is located next to Stagioni at 715 Providence Road. Heidi Finley CharlotteFive

Sala by Stagioni

Location: 715 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28207

Cuisine: Italian cocktail lounge, light bites

Instagram: @salaclt

Melissa Oyler contributed.

A portrait of a chef, smiling and bearded, in a backwards baseball cap and a red apron, resting an arm on the thick wooden counter of the kitchen pass, under a line of steel heat lamps, with stacks of dishes ready for service.
Chef Bruce Moffett’s Moffett Restaurant Group owns Barrington’s, Good Food on Montford, Stagioni and Sala, and Bao + Broth at Optimist Hall. Moffett Restaurant Group
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This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 7:18 AM.

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Tanasia Kenney
Sun Herald
Tanasia is a service journalism reporter at the Charlotte Observer | CharlotteFive, working remotely from Atlanta, Georgia. She covers restaurant openings/closings in Charlotte and statewide explainers for the NC Service Journalism team. She’s been with McClatchy since 2020.
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