New restaurant brings traditional Italian eats to Mooresville

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.

A wide-angle, sunlit view of a two-story brick building with large windows and an outdoor patio. Flags of Italy, Mexico, and other countries hang from the upper floor. Florence Wine & Beer Garden is slated to open in September at the Merino Mill, offering traditional Italian fare and an array of European wines. Photo by Michal Bay

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.

A high-angle view of a stark, industrial concrete structure with a dirt floor. The floor is partially covered with small green plants and mulch, and there is a silhouette of a person painted on a far wall. Florence Wine & Beer Garden in Mooresville will feature indoor and outdoor seating options, owner Michal Bay said. The restaurant is slated to open in September. Photo by Michal Bay

“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.

A high-angle view of a serene pond with two fountains, located next to a large brick building. The pond is surrounded by a black metal fence and lush green trees under a clear blue sky. The outdoor space at Florence Wine & Beer Garden features a pond that’s 18 feet deep and two fountains. Photo by Michal Bay

“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

A long-distance, eye-level shot of a two-story brick building with flags hanging from the upper floor. The building is surrounded by a large, empty paved area under a vast blue sky with a few clouds. More than a century old, the building that will house Florence Wine & Beer Garden once held a generator that powered the Merino Mill, owner Michal Bay told CharlotteFive. Photo by Michal Bay

This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 9:35 AM.