William West, Telegram Staff Writer, Brings Good News

I love Rocky Mount Mills. (Everything but the stickers on the water tank that are tacky.) I admire all the wonderful people involved, from the owners to a lovely young waitress that brings your food.

Check out this post I wrote on The Battle Family. https://mainstreetrockymount.com/2015/08/26/a-family-leaves-a-legacy-the-battle-family/

The preservation, restoration, repurposing, landscaping, atmosphere, businesses, the whole project is now a star in Rocky Mount’s crown.

When I read the following article written by Bill West, I proceeded to do back flips across the floor. When I think of the Mill, I think, ingenuity. The first blog post I wrote and again on the 1st anniversary, was about Evan Covington Chavez, Capitol Broadcasting’s director of real estate.

She is the gem stone in the operation that has grown year by year. The Battle House repurposing announcement in West’s article is cause for fireworks. It’s going to be an amazing.

I don’t want you to miss this news, so I shortened, cut and pasted Bill’s article. I hope you agree this is a Way Cool announcement that speaks to the revitalization of Rocky Mount, NC. The preservation, restoration, and repurposing of the Mills honors a family, the Mill workers and their families, an era of remarkable achievement.

Ripe for Revival set to become a Rocky Mount Mills tenant
William F. West Staff Writer Jun 17, 2025

The Battle House at the Rocky Mount Mills commercial and residential development is going to be transformed into a place of culinary education by Ripe for Revival.

“We love food — and we love the fact that food brings people together,” Ripe for Revival founder Will Kornegay said in a phone interview Friday.

Ripe for Revival is the nonprofit arm of Ripe Revival and deploys mobile markets to help remedy food insecurity locally and regionally.

Ripe for Revival has signed a lease to be able to use both stories of the two-story Battle House, which is a 4,600-square-foot structure constructed in 1835.

Plans are to have a commercial kitchen on the first floor to host cooking classes, community events and fundraisers and to have an education library and resource center on the second floor, with the location along Falls Road to be called The Seed.

Kornegay, asked about the name, said that he and his team want to plant seeds that empower people, promote education and change lives.

The plan is for a renovation project to start next month and for both stories to be opened by late fall.

Kornegay said that Ripe for Revival has been expanding its mission into, “How do we encourage people to gather around a table and know how to use the food that we’re bringing to them?”

“And so, we needed a space to call home for culinary education and to be able to prepare food and allow people to gather,” Kornegay said.

“We just felt that the Rocky Mount Mills was a great place,” he said. “They have been great partners of Ripe Revival and Ripe for Revival since the beginning.”

Of the Battle House, Kornegay said, “It’s a unique property. And there’s a lot of draw to it — and we’ve got some exciting things to come.”

“It’s going to be hopefully a great addition to a great campus,” he said.

The Rocky Mount Mills campus offers craft beer and restaurants and has offices, retail shops, residences and the Power House event venue, all at a former cotton mill site in immediate proximity to the Tar River and northwest of downtown.

The mills were established in 1818 and remained in operation until being closed in 1996.

The site eventually would begin to be transformed after Raleigh-based Capitol Broadcasting Co. in 2007 stepped in as the purchaser, with the vision being for having a mixed-use development at the site of both the old mills and the old mills village.

Evan Covington Chavez, Capitol Broadcasting’s director of real estate for the Rocky Mount Mills said, “Given the Battle House’s prominence on the campus, which is a perfect setting for special events, this impactful partnership made sense,” Chavez said. “Strong community partnerships, like this one, have been key to the Mills’ success and will continue to be for years to come.”

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