Tega Cay's Three New Kitchens Beat the Roundabout to the Finish Line

Drive down Stonecrest Boulevard this week and you'll hit a temporary traffic signal before you hit a parking spot. The city started building a roundabout at Stonecrest and Ledgestone Court on September 1, work scheduled to wrap by October 10. Construction was already three weeks along when Model A Brewing packed its beer garden for Oktoberfest on September 19, polka band and all. The parking lot filled up around the same orange cones the city put down for the intersection redo.

That timing is not a coincidence so much as a pattern. Over the past year, Tega Cay added three full-service dining anchors to a peninsula that used to run on a handful of chains and one brewery. Only one of those additions sits on the road currently getting torn up. The other two are a short drive away and untouched by the detour. Knowing which is which is the difference between a five-minute errand and a fifteen-minute one this month.

Stonecrest Is Turning Into the Peninsula's Main Street

Model A Brewing, at 1175 Stonecrest Boulevard, has been Tega Cay's first and only brewery for a few years now, running weekly Trivia Tuesdays and Bingo Thursdays alongside its taproom menu. It's no longer going to be alone on that street for long. The city's approved mixed-use project on the western side of the same corridor, between Dam Road and Stonecrest Boulevard, includes a beer garden with an entertainment component and a large outdoor space next to the existing stream, with an opening targeted for the end of 2026. Full buildout of the 55-acre site is expected to take about four years, but the first phase lands on Model A's doorstep.

That's the context for why the city chose this particular fall to rebuild the Stonecrest and Ledgestone intersection. The corridor is about to carry a lot more foot and car traffic than it has in the past, and the roundabout is meant to handle that before the new development opens rather than after.

For the next few weeks, though, it means delays. The city's notice on the project describes temporary traffic signals directing vehicles through the work zone during the day, with staff on-site to help with flow, and the signals running the intersection solo overnight. If you're headed to Model A for trivia or bingo, or just cutting through toward Dam Road, budget extra time and consider an alternate route while the work is underway.

Two New Kitchens That Aren't Anywhere Near the Cones

While Stonecrest Boulevard gets its intersection redone, the peninsula's other two new restaurants opened on completely different roads and haven't had a single detour between them.

The Garrison, the Pineville restaurant known for its cocktail list and wood-fired pizza, spent months renovating the old Shore Club space at 15083 Molokai Drive after winning the city's competitive process to take over food and beverage at Tega Cay Golf Club. The dining room is open now, with the full bar program debuting in mid-May. Owner Kevin Devanney brought over chef David Sullivan, whose background includes Piper Glen and Quail Hollow, and kept most sandwiches under $20 with entrees running $25 to $30. Devanney told a Charlotte food outlet he'd rather be part of a smaller community than closer to the city.

"We want to create a vibe that welcomes everyone."

Hoof & Barrel took the opposite end of town, moving into the long-vacant Famous Toastery at 2429 Highway 160. Albertus and Nicollette Booysen, who run the original location in York, opened the Tega Cay spot on December 11, 2025, bringing over menu staples like the Constrictors (bacon-wrapped shrimp) and a shrimp-and-grits dish called Shrimp Happens. They've since added weekend breakfast, a sign the location found its footing fast enough to expand its own hours rather than wait and see.

Here's how the three line up on the map right now:

If you want dinner without the temporary signal this month, the Garrison and Hoof & Barrel are both clear of the work zone.

Catawba Fest Doesn't Care About Any of This

The one date on the fall calendar that has nothing to do with Stonecrest Boulevard is Catawba Fest, returning to Catawba Park on Saturday, September 26, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It's the first fall market of the season, built around local and regional vendors selling candles, jewelry, wood art and holiday-ready home decor, plus a Children's Entrepreneur Market running for its third year, where kids from across the Carolinas set up their own small businesses for the day.

The music lineup runs the length of the festival:

• 10 a.m.: Gold Hill Middle School Band, under Jennifer Isenhour
• 11 a.m.: Students from Tega Cay's Encore Music Studios
• 1:15 p.m.: Karaoke with Mix Tape Entertainment during the changeover
• 2:15 p.m.: School of Rock Fort Mill, performing for a shot at the 2027 Best Dam Food Festival lineup
• Headlining: Diamond Dixie Band, the sister duo returning after their 2025 Uncle Sam Jam set

Admission is free, parking is available on-site at the park with additional off-site parking to follow, and none of it requires driving anywhere near Ledgestone Court.

Routing an Actual Weekend

If you're trying to fit both the new dining scene and the festival into one weekend before the roundabout finishes in October, the simplest sequence avoids Stonecrest Boulevard until after the intersection reopens:

1. Saturday morning at Catawba Fest, parking on-site at the park
2. Lunch or dinner at Hoof & Barrel on Highway 160, breakfast if you're making it a Sunday morning instead
3. An evening at The Garrison for the full bar and golf course view, no detour required
4. Save Model A Brewing's taproom for a weeknight once the temporary signals come down, or accept the short delay if trivia night is worth it to you

The peninsula's food scene grew fast enough this year that keeping track of what's open, where, and how to get there without hitting orange cones has become its own small skill. By mid-October, once the roundabout is finished and the Grove's first phase starts taking shape next door to Model A, that entire stretch of Stonecrest Boulevard will look like the busiest block in Tega Cay instead of the one under construction.

If you're watching how a corner of Tega Cay like this one keeps changing and wondering what it means for your own plans on the peninsula, BuyList Love Carolina keeps an eye on these shifts year-round. Let's Connect when you're ready to talk about what's next.