Birkdale Village Dining Is Shifting in Huntersville: What Closed and What's New

Huntersville's dining scene just lost one of its newer wine bars and keeps adding bigger ones. Foxcroft Food & Wine closed its Birkdale Village location on October 10, 2026, and the same shopping center now has North Italia, Burtons Grill & Bar, Suffolk Punch Brewing, and bartaco as recent arrivals. This is the practical update on what is closing, what is opening, and where to eat in Huntersville, which sits on the southeast side of Lake Norman.

What just closed at Birkdale Village

Foxcroft Food & Wine is gone from Birkdale Village. The restaurant, wine bar, and retail wine shop served its last meal on October 10, 2026, and the closing was announced in early October as a difficult decision, per the company's message to customers. The Huntersville outpost had been open about two years, at 16915 Birkdale Commons Pkwy, Suite A. It was part of the Charlotte based Foxcroft Wine Co. group, and local reporting noted it was the third Foxcroft location to close in about a year.

What Huntersville loses is a full-service spot that did double duty as a dinner room and a retail wine shop. The menu leaned on small plates, flatbreads, seafood, and house-made pasta, and the shop side poured 40-plus wines by the glass alongside hundreds of retail bottles, which made it a popular stop for grabbing a bottle on the way out. For the full list of what is still open in the town, the Huntersville restaurant directory is the place to browse.

What has opened at Birkdale Village since 2025

The arrivals have come in a steady stream. North Italia opened at Birkdale in February 2025, a contemporary Italian kitchen known for scratch-made pasta, wood-fired pizza, and a wine bar, part of the Fox Restaurant Concepts group. Burtons Grill & Bar followed in April 2025 a short walk away, serving made-from-scratch American classics with one of the more careful allergy-friendly programs in the area. During 2025 bartaco added a Huntersville location with its upscale street tacos, fresh-squeezed juice cocktails, and beachy patio. Then in December 2025 Suffolk Punch Brewing opened its two-story taproom at 16912 Birkdale Commons Pkwy, with a full bar downstairs, a rooftop bar upstairs, and a scratch kitchen. We covered the brewery's opening in the dining trends roundup when it landed.

That is a lot of new seating in one shopping center, and it makes Birkdale one of the easiest places in Lake Norman to park once and have dinner, dessert, and a drink without getting back in the car. It also means the restaurant row now spans several cuisines and price points, which is where a comparison table helps.

What stays open around Birkdale

The newcomers joined a row of established spots that keep the shopping center busy on any given night. Red Rocks Cafe has been a Birkdale fixture for years with its wide American menu and big patio, and eeZ covers the sushi side just around the corner on Birkdale Commons Parkway. Just outside the shopping center, Antico Italian Restaurant on Sam Furr Road has built a loyal following over the years, and Primal Brewery on Old Statesville Road remains the local taproom that started the town's craft beer streak.

Huntersville's directory runs wider than Birkdale, though. Duckworth's Grill & Taphouse pulls a crowd for wings and smoked meats, and the town has its own sushi, pizza, and Mexican standbys. If a brewery night is the plan, our best breweries in Lake Norman page sorts the taprooms across all eight towns, including Huntersville.

Downtown Huntersville is a different story

The turnover at Birkdale should not be mistaken for the whole town. The old downtown, built around the intersection of North Carolina 115 and Gilead Road, has been growing its own dining cluster in the Walk23 district. The Guest House by Choplin's, a steak and martini spot in a restored Victorian house, opened there this spring and gives the downtown a fine-dining anchor it did not have before. The two ends of Huntersville, Birkdale and the old town, now offer genuinely different nights out, which is a good problem for anyone choosing where to eat.

Where Birkdale sits in the lake's dining map

One thing to keep straight: Birkdale Village is not on the water. It sits along the I-77 and Sam Furr Road corridor in Huntersville, on the southeast side of Lake Norman, a few miles from the nearest marina. For boat-accessible dining, the action is over in Cornelius and Davidson, where the waterfront restaurants keep slips for diners. Birkdale's whole appeal is the opposite: a land-based, walkable village where you can park once and eat, shop, and catch a movie all in one evening.

Birkdale Village dining, answered

Is Foxcroft Food & Wine closed at Birkdale Village?

Yes. Foxcroft Food & Wine served its last meal at its Birkdale Village location in Huntersville on October 10, 2026, after about two years in the space. The closing was announced in early October 2026 as a difficult decision, and the wine bar, restaurant, and retail shop at 16915 Birkdale Commons Pkwy is now shut.

What new restaurants opened at Birkdale Village in Huntersville?

North Italia opened at Birkdale Village in February 2025, Burtons Grill & Bar followed in April 2025, bartaco added a location in the shopping center during 2025, and Suffolk Punch Brewing opened its two-story taproom with a rooftop bar at 16912 Birkdale Commons Pkwy in December 2025.

Does Birkdale Village have boat access?

No. Birkdale Village is a land-based mixed-use shopping center along the I-77 and Sam Furr Road corridor in Huntersville, a few miles from the water. For boat-accessible dining, the waterfront restaurants are in Cornelius and Davidson, covered in the waterfront roundup.

Where is Birkdale Village in Huntersville?

Birkdale Village sits at the corner of Sam Furr Road (NC 73) and Northcross Drive in Huntersville, North Carolina, just off Interstate 77. Huntersville is the largest town on the southeast side of Lake Norman.

What still serves dinner at Birkdale Village?

Red Rocks Cafe has been a Birkdale fixture for years, eeZ serves sushi at Birkdale Commons, and the recent arrivals North Italia, Burtons Grill & Bar, Suffolk Punch Brewing, and bartaco all run dinner service. The full Huntersville list is on the town directory page.