New restaurant on Lake Wylie offers waterfront views, chef-inspired menu

This restaurant aims to elevate Belmont’s culinary scene.

Drift, which opened on Lake Wylie on Monday, delivers a chef-inspired chophouse and lake views. That 15,000-square-foot restaurant is at 315-M Lanyard Lane, at the waterfront in the McLean development. It’s adjacent to the Morningstar Marina at the community and near Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden.

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“We wanted it to be a showcase and also withstand the test of time,” says Elliott Close, co-owner. “It’s been a dream of everyone who lives on the lake to have a lakeside restaurant.”

He teamed up with Colby Mosier and George Henry — known for The Pump House in Rock Hill and Napa at Kingsley in Fort Mill — on the venture.

McLean Hospitality paid $1 million for the roughly 1-acre parcel in December 2020.

“We just thought it would be a beautiful iconic spot on the lake,” Close says. “The water draws people.”

Read more and check out photos here.

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