A new beverage shop recently opened at Concord Mills Mall. In addition to cinnamon buns, popcorn and ice cream, customers can add wine slushies to the list of grab-and-go treats to have while they shop.
In February, Reece and Rick Nesbitt opened VinoRita in Concord Mills Mall. The opening marked the wine slushie company’s second location in the Queen City.
Opening VinoRita
In 2017, Reece and Rick Nesbitt first discovered frosés — frozen, blended rosé drinks – and did not like the versions they had tried. so, the Nesbits decided to create their own.
They experimented with their own frozen beverage recipes and learned to make wine slushies.
“We started exploring [different recipes] and let our friends try the recipes. And they just turned out to be really, really good. So we just started out making them for fun.”
That’s when they decided to take their homemade slushies in a new direction and build a business out of the concept.
After forming VinoRita in 2018, Reece Nesbitt said the couple stepped away from the business to travel for a while, then shelved it because of the pandemic in 2020.
While searching for a brick-and-mortar space for VinoRita in 2022, Reece Nesbitt said they learned Charlotte had two available spaces at Simon properties: Concord Mills Mall and the Charlotte Premium Outlets.
“We were fortunate enough to partner with some ownership groups, like Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties; they were all interested in our concept,” Reece Nesbit told QCity Metro. He added that Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties offered to put the Nesbitts in more of their properties.
The first VinoRita location opened at the Charlotte Premium Outlets in December 2022. The most recent location, Concord Mills Mall, opened in February 2023.
Sip and shop
Guests at Concord Mills Mall can stop into VinoRita and order slushies in various flavors, like Black San — a blackberry sangria –and the peach, rosé flavor, strawberry daiquiri and blueberry pomegranate.
There are two sizes: a 10-ounce for $11 and a 16-ounce for $16. Customers can also keep the cups and bring them back for discounted refills.
“I think that’s a great perk that a lot of our customers love as well, once you buy your cup, you basically keep it forever,” Reece Nesbitt said.
Though Black San is the business’s top seller, customers are encouraged to try all the flavors.
“We like to say love at first sip because when people just take their first sip, I think it’s just like a brand-new experience for them, totally unexpected,” Reece Nesbitt told QCity Metro.
Reece Nesbitt said she is excited to see the business expand. Her goal for VinoRita is to be “nationwide.”
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