Luna Rosa Gelato Cafe is expanding their operations into Mauldin, with their new location at 306 S. Main St. in Mauldin — the former location of Turtle Shell Bar & Grill. Richard and Linda Schweitzer, both residents of Mauldin, believe Luna Rosa, with its 100-year-plus traditional Italian recipes from grandmothers on both sides of the family tree, stage for live-music and an outdoor deck covered by a wind-powered pinwheel-esque awning, will bring something new to the city.
“I think we’re going to do extremely well here,” Richard Schweirzer said. “We’re middle priced for really fine food, you can get gelato, we’re going to have a beautiful bar.”
The new location, designed by their son, Jason, will also showcase Luna Rosa’s classic offerings, barring a few gelato flavors reserved for their location in downtown Greenville. The Mauldin location, in exchange, will offer beer on tap that isn’t available downtown. To ease some of the challenges of renovation during a pandemic, city of Mauldin Mayor Terry Merritt gifted the restaurant $5,000 on Tuesday from the city’s facade grant improvement fund.
Merritt argues that the incoming restaurant is a harbinger of a slew of new restaurants and development in the city.
“That’s the first step. Now, we have a beautiful up-fit restaurant, a nice place to go sit down and have a relaxing dinner,” Merritt said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
