A relationship that began 13 years ago when Appalachian State University randomly assigned freshmen Carter James and Gordon Gibbs to room together has resulted in Flour, a bakery and café debuting this week in a prime corner of the S&W Market. “Carter and I have known Gordon since they were 18,” says Kyle James, Carter’s older brother and the other half of the James brothers restaurant group.
Gibbs, whose kitchen addiction began in high school washing dishes in a restaurant, moved to Los Angeles after college to pursue a culinary career, landing chef gigs in several upper-end restaurants there. “I’m originally from Union County [North Carolina], and my family is there,” Gibbs says. “In Boone, I fell in love with the mountains and always saw myself eventually coming back here.”
Gibbs returned to assist the James brothers, who are co-owners of Bun Intended food truck, when Bun Intended opened its stall in the S&W Market in 2021. In addition to the steamed buns Bun Intended is known for, Gibbs began producing intermittent Sandwich Party pop-ups around town, biding his time until he could focus full time on focaccia.
When Gourmand moved out of the S&W in late 2023, opportunity came calling. “One of the property owners commented that maybe we could do the sandwich pop-ups in that corner, and the three of us looked at each other and thought, ‘Great idea,’” Kyle James recalls. “But let’s go all in.”
Expected to fully open by Friday, May 24, Flour begins service at 7 a.m., daily — well before other S&W vendors — with a succinct morning menu of plates, bowls and breakfast sandwiches on a biscuit. At 11:30 a.m., the menu switches to sandwiches. “We’ll have three,” says Gibbs. “All on focaccia — a classic Italian with meats, a chicken salad and a vegan. We’ll have a market salad, a market side and baked goods all day.”
Flour just installed a top-of-the-line espresso machine and will serve coffee drinks, as well as wine, spritzes and nonalcoholic options.
“We want the same downtown people who come in a couple times a week to grab lunch from Bun to come in early and grab a coffee and breakfast sandwich,” says Kyle James. “We’re glad to be a part of S&W as it grows and evolves.”
Flour is at S&W Market, 56 Patton Ave. For the menu and operating hours, visit avl.mx/dpi or follow Flour on Instagram at avl.mx/dpj.
Mission accomplished
Had everything gone according to Plan A, Terra Nova Beer Co. would be celebrating the one-year anniversary of its brewery and taproom on the South Slope during this month’s Asheville Beer Week. Instead, the company turned to Plan B, putting the brakes on the Asheville building last year to spend more time on its design and launching Terra Nova in downtown Swannanoa in November.
In addition to sales from its taproom, the Swannanoa facility allowed the brewery to can and self-distribute its products to generate revenue while the yearlong Asheville renovation was underway. During that time, word wafted through the hospitality grapevine that Peyton Smith, the James Beard-nominated chef behind nearly 10-year-old Mission Pizza Napoletana, was flirting with opening an Asheville location. Terra Nova co-owner Ed Ransdell made an exploratory trip to Mission’s Winston-Salem mothership, sending word back to the team that Terra Nova needed Mission Pizza.
On May 17, Terra Nova’s multiple partners finally pulled back the curtain on Terra Nova South Slope, their 299-seat flagship space celebrating beer, collaboration, art and music. In a stroke of perfect timing and good vibrations, that date also marked the Western North Carolina debut of Mission Pizza Napoletana, operating inside the brewery.
Smith says he and his brother and Mission co-owner, Geoff, entered the arrangement with positive feelings about both the Terra Nova partners and Asheville. Logistically, Mission’s two biggest equipment investments for the Asheville outpost were a large mixer and a high-temperature, gas-powered oven.
“We can’t replicate the equipment in Winston-Salem, but I need to be able to cook at a temperature high enough to retain a lot of the characteristics I want in the dough — slightly crispy to crispy with a creamy interior,” says the chef.
Initially, Mission’s small team is producing about four snack-size items, five pizzas and a couple of desserts. “We change the menu a lot, so it’s more about the framework and ethos of the menu than the items,” says chef Smith.
Terra Nova offers 18 beers on tap to quaff with the pizza, as well as a couple of wines, draft cocktails created by The Golden Pineapple, Devil’s Foot Beverage Co.’s sparkling lemonade and at least one Botanist & Barrel cider. Local artist and Terra Nova creative director Amar Stewart is responsible for the murals inside the taproom as well as the art on the brewery cans and apparel.
“We are extremely committed to collaborations of all kinds,” says Doss Church, Terra Nova partner and director of operations. “The result is the best version of ourselves and something bigger than us.”
Terra Nova Beer Co. and Mission Pizza Napoletana are at 101 S. Lexington Ave. For more information, visit avl.mx/dpq.
‘Blinner’ fundraiser
Breakfast for dinner is a tried-and-true answer to the vexing question posed while staring into the refrigerator at 5:18 p.m., and seeing nothing but eggs, cheese, milk, butter and a half-package of bacon. Blueprint Breakfast for Dinner is also the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity annual fundraiser, held this year on Thursday June 6, at plēb urban winery, where seven top local chefs will put their spin on a breakfast-inspired dish that says “home” to them.
Participating chefs are Michelle Bailey, Brian Crow, Steven Goff, Mike McCarty, Dune Pierre Michel, Peter Pollay and Terri Terrell.
The event includes live music from High Ground String Band, wine tastings from plēb, seven dishes, a drink and a raffle. Proceeds go toward the construction of the Blueprint Breakfast House, an affordable, energy-efficient home in Habitat’s Glenn Bridge neighborhood in Arden.
Breakfast for Dinner begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $100 per person and and are available at avl.mx/dpc.
plēb urban winery is at 289 Lyman St.
All the buzz
It’s only natural that No Mow May segues to June’s celebration of pollination by Bee City USA-Asheville. The 12th annual Pollination Celebration emerges from the hive with a Pollinator Film Fest on Saturday, June 1, at Pack Library and concludes Saturday, June 29, with a Pollinator Day Scavenger Hunt at the North Asheville Tailgate Market.
The celebration’s big buzz is the annual AVL Honey Fest, taking place noon-6 p.m., Sunday, June 2, at Salvage Station. Entertainment, vendors, food trucks, drinks, honey tastings and the International Black Jar Honey competition are on the agenda for the event.
Salvage Station is at 468 Riverside Drive. Tickets to the AVL Honey Fest are $15 per person and are available at avl.mx/dpe. For a complete calendar of Pollination Celebration events, visit avl.mx/dpd.
Cultivating community
Cultura executive chef Eric Morris and Olivette Riverside Community & Farm bring farms to the table and tables to the farm with the return of Cultivated Community Dining series at 6 p.m., on Thursday, May 30. The al fresco dinner will be crafted by Morris using Olivette’s fresh-picked, late-spring produce and will take place under the stars along the French Broad River at Olivette.
Five courses will be paired with drinks and accompanied by eclectic beats from DJ Lil Meow Meow. Tickets for the event are $125 per person, with proceeds benefitting Feed AVL, a free food distribution program at Southside Community Farm.
Olivette Riverside Pavilion is at 1069 Olivette Road. For more information and tickets, visit avl.mx/dpf.
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