Bean Vegan Cuisine
Queso dip, carnitas tacos and pulled barbecue sandwiches aren’t items vegans would normally pay attention to on a restaurant’s menu, but a new eatery is coming to Hendersonville Road that could be the exception to that rule. Charlotte-based Bean Vegan Cuisine is planning a location on Hendersonville Road in Arden with a projected opening date of April 29.
Co-owner and executive chef Charlie Foesch says the idea for an Asheville store was born when he and fellow owners Roy Parkhurst and Kandice Hexter noticed a number of people from Asheville were coming to eat at their Charlotte restaurant. “We had always traveled from Charlotte to Asheville to enjoy vegan food, so this stood out to us,” says Foesch.
The new store will feature the same menu of vegan Southern comfort food, fast-casual format and comic book hero theme as the Charlotte restaurant. With breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert menus, diners will find familiar vegan options such as veggie burgers, seitan Reuben sandwiches, fried tofu fingers and tofu scrambles. But there are also more inventive choices such as vegan meatloaf and crabby dip, crabby patties and a barbecue sandwich made from young jackfruit, a meaty-textured, neutral-flavored tree fruit native to Southeast Asia.
Sides are plentiful and decidedly Southern, with everything from fried yellow squash to red beans and rice to tater tot casserole. Desserts run the gamut from layer cakes to nondairy cheesecakes. Prices range from $7 for appetizers up to $13 for certain entrees.
Bean’s Charlotte location also features a full-scale vegan market, but Foesch says the Asheville eatery lacks the space for that. However, Asheville shoppers will be able to find top-selling grocery items for sale at the restaurant.
Bean is currently hiring for its Asheville location. To find out about employment opportunities, contact the owners at beanvegan@live.com.
Bean Vegan Cuisine will open on April 29 at 2145-A Hendersonville Road, Arden. For more information, visit eatatbean.com.
Food trucks return to Reynolds Village
Food Truck Fridays will return to Reynolds Village this year on May 22, June 26, July 24, Aug. 28 and Sept. 25, with festivities running 5:30-8 p.m. The free outdoor block parties feature food choices from a rotating lineup of local food trucks, as well as resident businesses Thirsty Monk and Chupacabra Latin Café. The Hop will be selling ice cream, and local artists and crafters will be offering items for sale. Entertainment will include live music, face painting and balloon twisting. Food truck operators and restaurants in North Asheville, Woodfin and Weaverville can contact Sharee at 552-5204 or info@ampedupkids.com about booking vendor spaces. Artists should contact Meghan at 575-0905 or rococoballroom@gmail.com, and musicians should contact Leslie at 708-7570 or leslie@spellboundbookshop.com.
Reynolds Village is one mile north of Beaver Lake just off Merrimon Avenue on North Merrimon Avenue, directly across from Future U.S. Interstate 26 Exit 23. For details, follow @RV_Shops on Twitter.
Vanderbilt Dinner Theater
On Friday, May 1, the Biltmore Estate will host a theatrical dinner party in the style of the grand events hosted by Edith Vanderbilt in the 1920s. Vanderbilt Dinner Theater will feature a reception on the roof of the Biltmore House with wine and hors d’oeuvres, a seated, multicourse dinner in the Stable Café Loft featuring 1920s-era cuisine and interactive dinner theater entertainment by Bittersweet Productions. Period attire is optional. Tickets are $110 each, and advance reservations are required.
6:30 p.m. Friday, May 1, Biltmore Estate, 1 Lodge St., Asheville. Call 800-411-3812 for reservations or click here for details and to view the menu.
Publix grand opening
The Florida-based supermarket chain Publix will launch its first Asheville location at 1830 Hendersonville Road with a grand opening celebration on Wednesday, April 29. The first customer in line at 7 a.m. will cut the ribbon as the store opens to the public. The store will offer product samples throughout the day and free reusable shopping bags throughout the week while supplies last. Publix says the 50,000-square-foot store will feature all the traditional grocery departments along with prepared-foods venues an an Aprons Simple Meals kiosk, which will offer affordable, easy-to-make recipes for families. Hours will be 7 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.
Race to the Taps
The inaugural event in the craft beer-themed Race to the Taps “six-pack” running race series happens on Saturday, April 25, starting — and finishing with a post-race festival — at Highland Brewing Co. Each of the six 4-mile, chip-timed road races will begin and end at local craft breweries. Runners receive Race to the Taps t-shirts and koozies plus a free pour at the end of the race. Scheduled races are as follows:
- 1 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at Highland Brewing Co.
- 6 p.m. Friday, June 12, at Pisgah Brewing Co.
- 9:30 a.m. Saturday, July 18, at Asheville Pizza and Brewing on Merrimon Avenue.
- 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, in the South Slope of downtown Asheville featuring Catawba Brewing Co., Green Man Brewery, Twin Leaf Brewery and Wicked Weed Brewing Co.
- 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at Oskar Blues Brewery.
- 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
For details, visit racetothetaps.com.
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