An ‘authentic’ Italian restaurant and social club to debut at Mill One in Mooresville

An Italian restaurant and social room will debut next month, bringing a little Mediterranean flair to the Lake Norman area where Mooresville’s first mill once stood.

Acqua Ragazza is expected to open by the end of September at Mill One, 201 N. Church St. in downtown Mooresville, restaurant owner Tara Marie Cottone told The Charlotte Observer.

Another restaurant, Savannah Oyster Co., also will open there this fall.

The restaurants join the $23 million mill project by MV2 Investments, a four-story apartment building with about 33,000-square-foot ground floor commercial space for 14 tenants — restaurants, retail and offices, said Amy Jarrett, vice president of operations for developer MV2 Investments.

The downtown property is adjacent to the renovated Liberty Park with an open-air amphitheater that opened last summer. Each restaurant offers views and seating looking toward the park.

What to expect at Acqua Ragazza

Acqua Ragazza, meaning “Water Girl,” will feature traditional Italian dishes, Cottone said, such as seafood, steak, veal and specials of the day like Brazino, European bass. Pastas will be made in-house.

“The thing about Italian is there are so many regions and different techniques in sauces,” Cottone said.

Italian master chef and sommelier Alessandro Magnani will lead the kitchen and has “full autonomy” with the menu, Cottone said. “I want it to be authentic,” she said.

Magnani has more than 30 years of culinary management experience from Bari, Italy, to Caribbean hotels and restaurants, as well as a private chef for celebrities. His “secret recipes date far back into his native Italian lineage,” according to Acqua Ragazza.

The 3,880-square-feet space under construction will have a giant pizza oven and gold-colored tiles. Also part of the restaurant’s centerpiece is the full-service bar and social area with high-end cocktails and bourbon.

“I want it to be a social place with more entertainment,” Cottone said. Acqua Ragazza will have a designated area for live music like piano and jazz.

Cottone has over 15 years of restaurant experience and decided to open her own restaurant after moving from Florida to Charlotte seven years ago. Acqua Ragazza will be upscale but “comfortable casual,” she said.

The restaurant will be open daily, except Mondays, and serve brunch 11 a.m. — 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. There also will be a designated pickup area for takeout.

Cottone expects to hire about 20 full- and part-time workers. Hiring began this month for roles including sous chef, pizza maker, line cook and bartender.

Other businesses at Mill One

Mill One’s first business opened this month.

Mikula Salon & Spa debuted in a 2,130-square-foot space. Along with hair treatments for women, men and children, spa services include saunas and IV hydration infusions, according to the salon’s website.

Following Acqua Ragazza’s debut, Savannah Oyster Co., a high-end seafood and raw bar restaurant by Jason Tuton of Barrel and Fork in Cornelius, is expected open in mid-October, Jarrett said.

Savannah will be in a 4,200-square-foot space. It will have two indoor bars and one outside on the 1,800-square-foot patio that can seat about 90 people, MV2 Investments Partner Mark Halteman said in a statement.

“This new raw bar concept will be a nod to its down South roots,” the company said on Facebook.

About Mill One

Mill One, a mixed-use development with 33,000-square-foot of commercial space and 90 high-end apartments, was completed last September. The first residents began moving in in October. Mill One has rental units ranging from 640-1,447 square foot starting at $1,259, according to the website.

“Now, there’s a 600-person waiting list,” Jarrett said.

The name Mill One pays homage to the town’s first textile mill. Built in the 1890s, Mill No. 1 was part of the Mooresville Mills, said Andy Poore, historian and curator of special collections for Mooresville Public Library. The mill closed in the 1990s.

MV2 tried to salvage the original mill, Jarrett said, but “bricks literally crumbled in your hand.”

However, some parts of the building have been used in the structural design.

“We were able to incorporate some of the original beams and planks for the interior of the common space as well as being incorporated into some of our commercial tenant upfits,” Halteman said.

‘Liveable, workable, walkable’

MV2 Investments has another project under way just three blocks away called Station Two 22. The $26 million, 110,000-square-foot mixed-use project includes 82 high-end apartments and 6,500-square-foot of retail and office space.

The name is a tribute to the old train station about a block away, MV2 Investments partner Vinny Giglio said.

He said they’re trying to help create a “liveable, workable and walkable” downtown.

“Every project, we like to pay tribute to the town,” Giglio said. “We’ve always seen it as like a mini uptown (Charlotte) with hometown charm.”

This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 1:00 AM with the headline "An ‘authentic’ Italian restaurant and social club to debut at Mill One in Mooresville."