Downtown Bowling Green residents and workers will soon have another option for getting their caffeine fix or finding lunch.

Mill House Cafe, located on North Main Street in Franklin for nearly three years, is expanding into the former Starbucks location in Stadium Park Plaza.

“We just signed the lease on the old Starbucks,” Mill House Cafe owner Anthony Facello said Tuesday. “We’ve had the cafe on the square in Franklin for two-and-a-half years. We felt that we needed to expand into Bowling Green.

“I stumbled on this location, and we plan to open in March. That gives us time to find employees and do renovations.”

Facello, a Maryland native who lived in the Nashville area for nearly 20 years before moving to Bowling Green, said the reception given to Mill House in Franklin prompted him to expand to Bowling Green.

“We’ve been very well-received in Franklin,” said Facello, who previously owned and operated a restaurant in Springfield, Tenn. “That community support definitely justifies us wanting to grow and do bigger things.”

Located in a historic building on Franklin’s downtown square, Mill House is open for breakfast and lunch, offering various coffees and teas and such food items as cinnamon rolls, breakfast burritos, biscuit and gravy, chicken salad, sandwiches and wraps.

Facello said the Bowling Green Mill House will have similar offerings but may not follow the Franklin store’s 7 a.m.-to-3 p.m. schedule.

“It will be a little different in Bowling Green,” he said. “We’ll probably be open a little later than just lunch hours. We’re trying to figure out what works well in that location.”

Facello, 48, said the 3,000-square-foot former Starbucks space is slightly larger than the Mill House location in Franklin and won’t require extensive renovation because it is already configured as a restaurant.

The restaurateur said he plans to “take full advantage” of the patio seating at the site and his location in a burgeoning downtown.

“It will be convenient for people working or living in that area,” Facello said. “We’ll be close to the driver’s license office and to Bowling Green Ballpark.

“We’re excited about being part of downtown Bowling Green. I think there will only be continued growth in that area.”

The Mill House Cafe joins two other restaurants recently moving into Stadium Park Plaza.

Casa D’Italia Ristorante and Garcia’s now occupy the spaces that had previously been home to Mariah’s restaurant and the 6-4-3 sports bar.