A year ago, the restaurant corner at Bailey Road and Statesville Road in Cornelius had lost its largest tenant. David Burke's G.O.A.T. Pizza opened at 9623 Bailey Road in April 2024 and closed for good in September 2025, Cornelius Today reported. Next door, 9615 Bailey Road was still known as the former Waterman and Cowboy space.
Both addresses are serving dinner again in 2026, and both new tenants come from people with long restaurant records. A Tex-Mex concept that ran for 28 years in West Virginia opened in May. Little Mama's Italian, from the restaurateur behind one of Charlotte's longest-running Italian dining rooms, opened in September. For Bailey's Glen residents, the nearest restaurant cluster to home now rests on operators who have done this many times before.
Two openings with long histories behind them
Chili Willi's opened May 8, 2026, in the former Waterman and Cowboy space at 9615 Bailey Road. Cornelius Today traced the concept to Huntington, West Virginia, where it ran from 1983 to 2011. Rob Duckworth, the restaurateur behind Duckworth's Grill & Taphouse, The Cellar and Link & Pin, revived it in partnership with original owner and chef Ron Smith. Duckworth knew the restaurant from his own years in Huntington. Cornelius Today describes the menu as Tex-Mex, with wood-fired dishes alongside the traditional favorites.
Four months later, on September 7, Little Mama's Italian opened its third location at 9623 Bailey Road, Suite 100. Frank Scibelli of Charlotte-based FS Food Group created the concept, and Cornelius Today noted it was recommended by Michelin in 2025. Little Mama's grew out of Mama Ricotta's, which Scibelli opened on Kings Drive in Midtown Charlotte in 1992, according to the restaurant's own account.
Scibelli explained the menu to Cornelius Today ahead of the opening:
"These are the foods I grew up with and love to share — classic Italian-American dishes, made from scratch and served with genuine hospitality. We cannot wait to bring that tradition to Cornelius and Lake Norman."
The outlet reported that the menu draws on the Italian-American food Scibelli grew up eating in New England. It includes a brick-oven pizza program modeled on the Little Mama's at Rea Farms, the Mozzarella Presentation, penne alla vodka, lasagna, giant homemade prime beef meatballs with spaghetti, and chicken Parmesan, plus wine and craft cocktails.
What's at 9615 and 9623 Bailey Road this fall
The two new restaurants share the corner with two smaller businesses that opened earlier and are still open.
| Business | Address | Opened | What it serves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Mama's Italian | 9623 Bailey Rd, Suite 100 | September 7, 2026 | Scratch pasta, brick-oven pizza, Italian-American classics |
| Chili Willi's | 9615 Bailey Rd | May 8, 2026 | Tex-Mex with wood-fired dishes |
| Pulp Juice and Smoothie Bar | 9623 Bailey Rd, Suite 101 | April 22, 2025 | Juices and smoothies |
| Cocotte | 9623 Bailey Rd, Suite 110 | August 2024 | French bakery: croissants, breads, pastries, sandwiches |
Little Mama's lists hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and it takes reservations for the Cornelius location through its website. Pulp posts daily hours and online ordering on its Cornelius location page.
Cocotte has been at the corner the longest of the four. Owners Alexandre Darbousset and Angela Yeo bake with flour from Grands Moulins de Paris, and the bakery sold out within two hours of its August 2024 opening, according to Cornelius Today's coverage at the time. The bakery's site still takes same-day orders, so check it before a weekend pastry run.
A room sized for the whole table
The largest space on the corner went to the concept built for groups. Little Mama's Cornelius location covers 4,300 square feet with 140 seats spread across a dining room, a bar and a sunroom. Cornelius Today reported the space was designed for family meals, date nights and larger gatherings. G.O.A.T. Pizza's restaurant at the same address was 4,100 square feet.
That matters most in the next two months, when visiting family and holiday get-togethers fill the calendar. Bailey's Glen residents already have a poolside restaurant and bar at The Oasis inside the community. A reservation for a large party off Bailey Road is now a short drive away, with no trip to Davidson or Birkdale required.
The park beside Bailey's Glen is getting much bigger
Bailey's Glen's own amenities page says the community sits next to a greenway with a 10-foot multipurpose path to neighboring Bailey Road Park, and that the trails continue to downtown Davidson.
The town has spent the past year enlarging that park. In March 2026, the Cornelius Town Board approved buying 37.4 acres north of Bailey Road Park, next to 36.18 acres the town bought in 2025, Cornelius Today reported. That brings the combined site to about 73 acres set aside for future park development. In September 2026, a $500,000 state grant went toward the 37-acre purchase. The land is mostly wooded, with creeks and potential for open space and passive recreation. No new facilities have been built on it yet.
The courts at Bailey Road Park marked their first anniversary this month. Ten lighted pickleball courts opened October 2, 2025, and 12 lighted tennis courts held their opening ceremony on October 21, 2025. The court complex still lacks restrooms and shade. The Town of Cornelius says it has hired a designer for both and expects construction to start after the first park-bond sale in early 2027.
Bailey Road itself is next
The road that feeds the corner is also changing. The Bailey Road Extension will run from Poole Place Drive to US 21 on a new alignment with a roundabout, Cornelius Today reported in March 2026. It also includes a culvert connecting to the Caldwell Station Creek Greenway, and that work will close part of the greenway temporarily.
The published finish dates don't match. The same Cornelius Today article reported a $7.8 million contract, a possible late-March start, roadway completion in fall 2027, and landscaping into spring 2028. The town's project page lists an April 2026 start and May 2031 completion. The two dates may cover different parts of the work. For now, plan around detours for several years, not several months.
The March article also mentioned a $64,000 study of the Bailey Road and NC 115 intersection, which could bring a second round of changes to how traffic reaches Bailey Road.
Dates to plan dinner around before the new year
Two town events this season pair well with a reservation on Bailey Road:
- Light Up Cornelius, Saturday, November 28, 2026, 4 to 7 p.m., in Downtown Cornelius at 21445 Catawba Avenue, including the annual tree lighting. The event ends at 7, and Little Mama's serves until 10 on Saturdays.
- Flashlight Candy Cane Dash, Thursday, December 17, 2026, 5:30 to 7 p.m., at Legion Park. The Town requires registration. Little Mama's stays open until 9 on Thursdays.
The town calendar also lists a Veterans' Day Program at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11. Before mid-November, the court complex at Bailey Road Park offers one more option on a mild afternoon, with lights for after the early sunsets.
If the changes along Bailey Road have you wondering what the next few years of construction, parkland and new businesses could mean for your corner of Cornelius, David Salmonsen Realty is glad to talk it through with you, with the research done ahead of time and no pressure attached. Work With David.
