Cedar Mountain amps up its food-and-beverage appeal near DuPont forest

Posted on by Geraldine H. Dinkins
PULL ON IN: Val Gerdes of the Whistlestop Market, with a few of the Cedar Mountain roadside stop's produce.

At least three food-and-beverage ventures serve hungry and thirsty hikers, cyclists and locals in Cedar Mountain, a community located south of Brevard near the popular 10,600-acre DuPont State Recreational Forest. Each cozy pit-stop along Highway 276 invites adventurers to linger for more than just a quick fix of gas-station fare.

Announced by its can’t-miss, fire-red lettering and tucked behind the local fire station, Cedar Mountain Canteen offers a rotation of six local and regional craft-style beers, as well canned beers and wines by the glass. Visitors can grab ice cream treats, sandwiches and packaged snacks, too. But the cherry on top of the canteen’s ambiance — aside from the casual warmth of its live-edge poplar bar and table tops — is the outdoor area in the style of a German-style biergarten.

WELCOME TO THE CANTEEN: Aleshka and Peyre Cleveland, who own the Cedar Mountain Canteen, provide a welcoming place to meet and mingle.
WELCOME TO THE CANTEEN: Aleshka and Peyre Cleveland, who own the Cedar Mountain Canteen, provide a welcoming place to meet and mingle.

Odd as it may sound, “biergarten” and “kindergarten” have more in common than just a language: Throw in a lazy, wade-in stream and outdoor seating, and the canteen’s beirgarten translates to parched adults kicking back with a Munich Dunkel from Brevard Brewing Company or a Gaelic Ale from Highland Brewing Company while children splash just feet away. A fence around all the fun keeps everyone safely corralled and legal.

Heading just a few hundred feet toward Brevard on Highway 276, famished outdoor enthusiasts can also sit down – inside or on the patio – at Cedar Mountain Café. Organic ingredients and homemade sodas make this stop feel more like a foodie discovery than an empty-stomach concession stand. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, the café impresses with a surprisingly varied, locally sourced and expertly prepared lineup of dishes that promise a healthy start to a day of play, or provide a filling post-exercise meal without the guilt trip. Cedar Mountain Café also serves a full complement of beer and wine, along with daily specials announced in the cozy dining room’s blackboard.

Patrons come to Cedar Mountain's Whistlestop Market for fresh, seasonal produce and locally-made cheeses, jams and other delicacies.
LITTLE OF THIS, LITTLE OF THAT: Patrons come to Cedar Mountain’s Whistlestop Market for fresh, seasonal produce and locally-made cheeses, jams and other delicacies.

Farther along on Highway 276 toward Brevard, the Whistlestop Market caters to those who have home cooking on their mind. The market’s produce stand boasts locally sourced staples, such as honey and goat cheeses and a seasonally inspired palette of bright colors, from eggplants to peaches to tomatoes. Soon, a new addition will feature bulk foods, nuts, dried fruits, wine and beer to suit any dinner plan or add a little something special to the picnic basket.

More info

Cedar Mountain Canteen, (828) 774-9405

Whistlestop Market, (828) 877.5081

Cedar Mountain Café, (828) 884-5272

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One thought on “Cedar Mountain amps up its food-and-beverage appeal near DuPont forest”

  1. Trish

    Geraldine is a most talented writer! She creates marvelous word pictures that entertain and inform! Thanks to her for sharing her gift of writing!

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