Former Asheville restarateur and Brewgrass co-founder Doug Beatty opens smokehouse in Abingdon, Va.

Doug Beatty, founder of Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria and the Brewgrass Festival will open Bone Fire at the Hardware in Abingdon, Va. in early April. The smokehouse and music venue will offer the town its “first taste of barbecue.” Even more interesting, however, is Beatty’s reason for leaving Asheville:

“Beatty said he moved to Abingdon five years ago from Asheville, N.C., ‘because Abingdon feels like Asheville used to.’

He said the open, tolerant and artsy feel of Abingdon is similar to what drew him to Asheville in the 1980s, where he worked as a restoration general contractor and opened his first restaurant: Barley’s Taproom.

As Asheville developed, he said, the success of the health care industry there drew retirees, who drew their families, lawyers and, eventually, enough big money to drive the cost of living out of reach of the average person.

‘I end up in towns that are evolving,’ he explained, ‘so I got to Asheville in the 80s, when it was not the place to be.’

His restaurant in Asheville developed into a chain, he said, which he eventually sold before moving to Abingdon, Va., and opening the first Bone Fire Smokehouse in Kingsport, Tenn. He ran that restaurant for more than four years, he said, but it closed in December after the building was sold and he lost his lease.

He said he sees in Abingdon many of the same elements that made Asheville attractive to him back then, including a strong arts community and an active local government effort to promote downtown.

‘We started the project [in Abingdon] back in November, so this was actually going to be our second location,’ he said. “[Now] rather than managing two different restaurants 50 miles apart, I get to manage one that’s five miles from my house.’

SHARE

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.