Archetype Brewing adds South Slope location

If you’ve stepped inside Archetype Brewing’s latest location at 39 Banks Ave., you might notice a particularly pleasing aroma that only fresh-baked dough and cheese creates. In June, owners Corina and Brad Casanova partnered with Jon Leu, launching the brewery’s latest spot inside the former home of Harvest Pizzeria.

Leu, who co-owned the pizzeria before its closure, points out that the pizza ovens have remained, inspiring Archetype’s executive chef, Chris Burns, to keep pies on the menu. “[Burns’ family] hails from Italy, and his recipes are actually from his grandparents,” Leu says.

In addition, the menu features Smash burgers, a Power Green Bowl, Asian cuisine and, for kids, cornflake-crusted chicken fingers.

“He’s just a really talented guy,” Leu adds.

The kitchen is a first for the brewery. Its other two locations have relied on neighboring restaurants to supply their patrons. The new space also makes Archetype only the third brewery in town — joining Hi-Wire Brewing and Wicked Weed Brewing — to launch a third location.

The culinary feature, notes Leu, is part of a broader plan to offer distinct experiences at each of Archetype’s three locations.

Food and drink

Archetype West patrons have long been able to get food from neighboring Beecham’s Curve restaurants Gan Shan West, Pizza Mind and Taco Billy. And Archetype North customers are likewise welcome to bring in outside food from surrounding restaurants.

“But now to have it in-house is even more special, so that we can really shine with that and bring our own flavors that complement Belgian-style beers and American beers as well,” says Julie Stransky, Archetype’s marketing director.

Archetype South Slope is led by General Manager Donny Whitcomb, whom Stransky says has opened numerous restaurants, most recently La Petit Frite in Cincinnati. Aiding him is assistant manager Heather Siler, who brings extensive industry experience, including three years in Manhattan at the acclaimed Parisian-style restaurant Pastis.

“That’s what I consider fundamental to my experience in the industry,” Siler says. “That place functioned like a machine.”

Together, the management team looks to take advantage of the new location’s potential, particularly the rooftop space, which had a reputation during the Harvest days for hosting appealing activities.

“We’re having fun playing with different events and also trying to bring back some of the music,” Stransky says. “Harvest Pizzeria used to do a lot of DJs and live music on the rooftop, and we definitely want to do that as well — but also be respectful and cater to a bunch of different, diverse cultures and backgrounds so that it doesn’t get too niche.”

Growing pains (and gains)

Though the brewing system Archetype has in place at its West Asheville facility is large enough to meet the demands of the company’s latest expansion, Stransky notes adding a new venue still required a significant amount of planning and thought.

“We’ve seen this dip in the restaurant and the brewing industries because of a bunch of different variables, so we’re making sure that we’re balancing [increased production] in the best possible way,” she says.

“That’s also why we’ve stepped back a little bit from some of the larger events,” Stransky continues. “Just to ensure that we can supply for our first three locations and make sure that we’re really taking care of our customers.”

Despite Archetype’s trio of taprooms located within a few miles of each other, Stransky is confident that the clientele and environment of each location are different enough to sustain all three spots. She describes Archetype North as catering more toward private events, while the other two are geared to their own populations.

“In West Asheville, we have a lot of neighborhood locals that just want to come in with their dogs and hang out for a bit. And then [South Slope] is an elevated experience,” she says. “It’s a little classier.”

In South Slope, Archetype also has a greater opportunity to be in front of out-of-towners, as well as be part of a community of breweries and restaurants that’s ripe with partnership potential. But with the new location still in its early stage, collaboration beers with street-mates such as Catawba Brewing Co. and Twin Leaf Brewery have yet to occur.

“I think as we get into the fall, it will happen,” says Stransky. “But summer is always kind of [hectic].”

Unlike Hi-Wire and Burial Beer Co., which have expanded to additional taprooms outside Asheville, the Archetype team is content to grow within the city where the business was launched. Stransky notes that the brewery is still a relatively small one and that other important factors currently keep them rooted in Buncombe County.

“For now, we cater to Asheville because this is what we know and this is what we love,” she says. “It makes more sense to continue our growth here in a place where we have that foundation already in lieu of branching outside of that.”

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