The French Broad Chocolate Lounge announces the opening of its outdoor dining area at its new Pack Square Location. The outdoor dining area seats up to 24 chocolate lovers and is now open for patrons to sit and people-watch as they enjoy their chocolate treats.
From the French Broad Chocolate Lounge
Press Release
It gives me great pleasure, and more than a little relief, to finally herald the opening of our outdoor dining area. Part of the original design of the new Pack Square location of our flagship French Broad Chocolate Lounge (and adjacent Chocolate + Milk Boutique), our late autumn grand opening left us with unfavorable weather conditions to build the patio area. And few would have wanted to sit out there in what was a particularly chilly Asheville winter!
With spring upon us, we finalized our permitting process and created a design that incorporates seating for up to 24 chocolate fanatics, to soak up the sun and watch passers-by in Pack Square Park. We marshaled the efforts of Kelly Prestwood’s team atMatrix Design Group, a group of experienced metal workers who have done work at many Asheville spots, including King James Public House, Frock Boutique, Studio Chavarria, Fusion Pilates, and many private clients. I found this awesome video featuring Kelly engaged in the deep creative process of making sparks fly and creating metal art!
Once Kelly’s crew fabricated our planter boxes and steel posts, the two distinct outdoor dining areas quickly took shape: a few soon-to-be coveted seats under the windows, and a spacious street-side patio with intimate tables for two and a big gathering table, for sharing with both friends and strangers.
Jael then came in with her aesthetic prowess to apply copper patina to the planters, at once softening and aging these new fixtures of our beloved Pack Square Park.
To bring the space to life, we chose seasoned gardening badass Lauri Newman-Waters of FarmGirl Garden Designs. She reported having a lot of fun finding plants that complemented our color scheme and the chocolate theme, finding gorgeous conifers like the Serpentine Atlas Cedar to give a blue-toned pop to the landscape, and the delicate “Dutch Chocolate” baptisia with its strangely brown blooms. We’ll have fun picking chocolate mint to garnish our plates, but not as much fun as our patrons, holding communion with their chocolate in the fresh, open air!
We hope this new addition to French Broad Chocolate Lounge, and downtown Asheville generally, will be welcomed and enjoyed as a new place to eat a few truffles, sip fine wine or coffee, or slurp up a fresh waffle cone full of our small-batch homemade ice creams. Happy spring, Asheville!
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