Downtown's newest eatery: Epic Chophouse

        Mooresville’s newest downtown restaurant, Epic Chophouse, will be a blend of upscale and casual fare and will open its doors late this month.

        Larry “Mooch” Sponaugle, co-owner of Mickey & Mooch in Huntersville, and partners Jim Morasso and Rick Mack will operate the restaurant at the corner of Main Street and Center Avenue, at the site of the former Soiree.

They insist that Epic Chophouse will be significantly different from Soiree, an upscale restaurant that could not generate enough business to survive and closed in July after four years.

      “We want it to be really nice, but an awesome value,” said Morasso. “We want this place to be the number one place people think of when they go out to eat.”

      The partners said late last week that the restaurant will be open from seven nights a week from 4-10 p.m. for dinner. The bar will remain open until midnight.

      Luring the after-work crowd will be a goal. “We want it to be the after-business place to go to relax and unwind,” said Mack.

            The menu will consist of a chophouse-classic American style, featuring steaks, chops, fresh seafood, pastas and classic dishes. Menu prices will range from $5 to $23.      The owners said they plan to use local food suppliers.

      “The menu will always have something different for customers to try out but will always have a consistent taste,” said Morasso. Steaks will be cooked on 1,800-degree broilers and served in a crusted-classic steakhouse style, he said.

      Along with a new name, the building is also being renovated. Constructed in 1888, it originally housed the Rankin General Store but fell into disrepair in recent decades. It was purchased by downtown businessmen Bob and John Amon about six years ago and underwent major renovations to accommodate the arrival of Soiree.

      Mack, of RDM architecture in Davidson and Synergyone, is working on the design build of the restaurant.

      “Rick knows a lot of people in the area and with our background in the restaurant business that’s what helps make us a good team because we plan on being here for a long time,” said Sponaugle.

      Mack is trying to keep the feel of the old building physically but revamping everything on the inside -- from changing the lighting of the building, putting in copper bar tops to a new seating layout.

The entire kitchen is also being redone, from putting in a new cement floor to adding new grills.

      The main-floor dining area will be opened up by taking out the existing dining tables and putting tables all against the walls to allow for more seating in the middle of the restaurant, as well as opening up the ceiling to give it a higher feel. There will be seating up and downstairs for around 200 people. Epic will also be able to serve large groups upstairs in a separate closed dining area.

     “The building won’t be the same on the inside,” said Mack.

      Outside, a rear patio will feature live entertainment, continuing Soiree's tradition. Epic Chophouse will also offer free valet parking.

      A repeat clientele is critical, Morasso said.

      “We’re not just counting on someone to come in once,” he said. “We’re wanting them to want to come back. We see ourselves as being an anchor for Mooresville and a re-revitalization of downtown and a steward of the community.”

     Sponaugle and Morasso have worked together on and off for 15 years and are pulling from past experiences with restaurants they have been apart of. One place in particular where they worked together was at Lacecchias where Morasso was a managing partner.

     Sponaugle has been apart of a few well-known restaurants such as Frank Manzetti’s in South Park, The Boathouse in Charleston; which he still owns and is co-owner of Mickey & Mooch in Huntersville and the Charlotte Arboretum.

      Both Sponaugle and Morasso have been involved with restaurants and restaurant concepts that have long-term reliability.

“It’s what we do and it’s what we love to do,” said Sponaugle. “We have fun doing what we’re doing and want people that come here to have a great experience. It’s gonna be the most professional restaurant we think, in this area.”

      Finding the right location and the right market in this economy was something they strived for.

      “A lot of variables came together to help us make this decision on the location and in this market,” said Mack.

“The economy now has heavily influenced how we’ve strategized to pull this together,” said Sponaugle. “Without landlords like the Amons we wouldn’t have been able to do this. They are the ones who really made this possible.”

      As far as the restaurant’s name?

The owners tossed around a lot of ideas and themes, but to them, Epic was a word that meant “done well” and “would stand the test of time,” said Sponaugle.

“It’s an old word that’s coming back, and it’s a perfect name for what we’re looking to do here.”