A Valentine story from Asheville’s restaurant scene

If there's anything small-business advisors find as scary as undercapitalization, it's choosing the wrong partner. "Partners present the opportunity for turmoil," counsel the authors of Small Business for Dummies (Wiley, 2008) before outlining nightmare partnership scenarios in which entrepreneurs found themselves friendless, broke and in court. Photos by Jonathan Welch While business schools types generally […]

Aw shucks

Tres Hundertmark insists there's nothing inherently difficult about prying oysters from their shells. "It's really just a matter of pushing the point of the knife as far as you can," Hundertmark, executive chef at The Lobster Trap, explains. Unsuccessful shuckers, he says, are usually felled by uncooperative tools, such as screwdrivers, paring knives and dull […]

Back to the roots

Good, affordable organic food can be hard to find in Asheville. A case in point: Roots Café, the extension of a highly successful sauce and dressing wholesaler, is tucked into a back corner of the River Arts District at an off-the-beaten-path address. Photo by Jonathan Welch "Honestly, people finding us has been the hardest part […]

Small Bites

Standard Pizza Co.: Jim Coleman, who recently opened a New York-style pizza joint on Haywood Road, insists there's "nothing too fancy" about his pies. But, if pressed, Coleman will talk about an available topping that's anything but standard. "We do put bananas on pizza," Coleman says. "That's kind of weird." Photo by Jonathan Welch Coleman […]