What’s new in food: Joey’s Bagels opens first Asheville location

On Dec. 27, Joey’s Bagels — Hendersonville and Fletcher’s go-to bagel emporiums for over a decade — debuted its first Asheville location. The Merrimon Avenue store was opened by Gabe Willis, who in February 2024 purchased the business from brothers and cofounders Joe Scarlata (the business’s namesake) and Michael Scarlata.   

Willis, who moved to Asheville in 2021 for a job in corporate strategy for the North American headquarters of a manufacturing company, says he was ready for a life change and seeking to be more engaged with the community by owning a small business. Though “bagel maker” was not in his search engine, when he saw the company offered for sale, he was intrigued.

“My mother is from the Bronx, and my grandfather still lives there,” he says. “I’ve probably eaten 10,000 bagels in my life. I’m very good at consuming them, but didn’t know much about making them.”

As Willis discovered shortly after buying the company, some customers are happy to tell him and his staff how they should do it. “I had no idea bagels would be so controversial,” he says. “Every day someone comes in and tells us what we’re doing wrong or posts it on social media. It’s like the wild west of bagels.”

Fortunately, four of Joe Scarlata’s kids still work for Willis, one of whom is the baker in the Hendersonville store. Also, Willis says he’s quite certain they are doing it the “right” way, which notably includes boiling the bagel before baking it.

“We make fresh dough every morning, seven days a week,” he says. “And we bake seven nights a week.” The Hendersonville store makes the bagels for that location and the one in Fletcher, going through 600-800 pounds of dough per day. The new Asheville location is autonomous, producing about 400 pounds of dough per day for the shop.

Joey’s Bagels has a healthy wholesale business in Western North Carolina as well, delivering about 140 dozen bagels a week to restaurants, coffee shops and markets. All three locations also sell bagel breakfast sandwiches, omelets, subs, wraps and lunch sandwiches on a bread of choice. The best seller overall is the Regular Joe — two scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon and cheese on a bagel.

With the opening of the third store, Willis has noticed a difference in buying habits. The four most popular bagel flavors are everything, asiago, plain and cinnamon raisin. But in Fletcher and Hendersonville, he points out, people also really like the sweet flavors like French toast, cranberry orange and blueberry. In Asheville, though, poppy, sesame and pumpernickel rule. It’s similar with the cream cheese spreads — Hendersonville and Fletcher love their strawberry, while Asheville prefers plain or scallion.

As for lox, fuggedaboutit. “Our first day open on Merrimon, we sold out of every lox product in three hours. I ordered double for the next day, and we still went through most of it.” 

When asked if he had considered changing the business name to Gabe’s Bagels when he took over, Willis laughs. “Nobody wants that; there’s a lot of brand equity and customer loyalty in Joey’s Bagels. It would be smarter for me to change my name to Joey.”

Joey’s Bagels’ new Asheville location is at 707 Merrimon Ave. at the rear of the parking lot. For more information, visit avl.mx/eev.

Golden Hour on fire

The Radical Hotel closed for a few months after Tropical Storm Helene caused the French Broad River to roll over its banks in the River Arts District in late September, but overnight guests were welcomed back the first week of January. Food and beverage operations at the hotel’s full-service restaurant Golden Hour, café-styled Afterglow and The Roof bar remain suspended, but on Saturday, Jan. 11, Golden Hour will turn on the lights and light the wood-fired oven for Keeping the Fire Alive, a special, one-night-only dinner to celebrate Asheville’s resilience.

Keeping the Fire Alive will offer a family-style, wood-fired menu from Golden Hour chefs Jacob Sessoms and Kevin Chrisman. Among the dishes are bottom-pot cornbread with aged butter; beignets with North Carolina blue crab; Low Country barbecued carrots, ash baked rutabaga with caramelized whey and smokey savoy cabbage; slow-roasted lamb; and chocolate chess pie.

There will be live music by the LEAF Kono Band, live painting from Colton Dion and local goods from The Culinary Gardener. The dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $75 per person. Wine pairings from North Carolina-based Haw River Wine Merchant are an extra $30.

Golden Hour is at The Radical Hotel, 95 Roberts St. For tickets, visit avl.mx/eeu.

Reopened for business

Several local food and beverage businesses that closed in the wake of Helene are reopening, in the same location or at different addresses. Here are a few updates:

French Broad Chocolate Factory & Café: The French Broad Chocolate Lounge on Pack Square downtown reopened in late October following the acquisition of a ginormous water tank at the French Broad Chocolate Factory & Café at 821 Riverside Drive that allowed the company to make chocolate again. On Dec. 18, the Riverside Drive location, which sustained severe damage due to flooding, opened again to the public, offering brownies, bonbons, hot chocolate and a full coffee and espresso menu noon-6 p.m. daily. On Dec. 26, the location’s popular Chocolate Factory tours resumed at 1 and 3 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays. Book tours at avl.mx/cdd.

Hillman Beer: Launched in 2017, family-owned Hillman Beer’s Biltmore Village location on the banks of Sweeten Creek was a big part of its appeal and the cause of post-Helene flooding that closed the taproom. As of Thursday, Dec. 12, the beer was back to flowing seven days a week, and the following day, the kitchen was also back in operation, sending out the HB classic burger and fries. The brewery also has locations in Morganton and Old Fort. Hillman Beer’s Biltmore Village location is at 25 Sweeten Creek Road. For more information, visit avl.mx/eex.

Eda Rhyne Distilling Co.: Eda Rhyne’s Biltmore Village production facility and tasting room was inundated with over 5 feet of water after Helene. That was so 2024. On Dec. 31, the Garden & Gun Made in the South award-winning distillery threw a party to celebrate the reopening of its tasting room and cheers in 2025. Eda Rhyne’s Biltmore Village tasting room is at 101 Fairview Road. For hours, visit avl.mx/eet.

Mattie Lou’s Café & Bakery: The decision by the owner of Asheville institution Geraldine’s Bakery to close after Tropical Storm Helene opened a door for Mattie Grey to take over the Merrimon Avenue space and open Mattie Lou’s Café & Bakery on Nov. 13. The new shop sold out its first day of business and continued to be popular, but less than a month later after baking over 70 pies for Thanksgiving orders, a series of unfortunate mechanical breakdowns, including the heating system, water pipes and oven — forced Grey to temporarily put a “closed” sign on the door. The first week of December, a group of boosters who had already become attached to her cardamom morning buns, iced cinnamon rolls, savory Danish and miso caramel pastry cream-filled cruffins, insisted she start a GoFundMe campaign. She managed to raise the money for repairs, and the shop gradually reopened beginning Dec. 14. In the new year, Grey plans to adjust her winter operating hours according to customer demand.

Mattie Lou’s Bakery & Café is at 840 Merrimon Ave. For hours, visit avl.mx/ec1.

Veganuary

Veganuary is a 31-day challenge launched in the United Kingdom in 2014 that encourages people to try a vegan diet; as the name implies, it takes place each January. To sweeten the pot for WNC locals, on Jan. 1, The Hop debuted its new pea-protein vegan ice cream base, which co-owner Ashely Garrison describes in a press release as “a game-changer — a clean, smooth and creamy canvas for flavors.” 

Throughout the month, The Hop will spotlight its new and expanded vegan ice cream flavors — PennyCup cold brew, cinnamon maple pecan butter, lemon bar, cookie butter, chocolate, mint royale and fudge brownie CBD — and continue its sorbet and no-sugar-added vegan option.  The north and west Asheville Hops will have nine flavors, Black Mountain eight and the S&W Market will scoop six. Special promotions will take place through Veganuary at various shops.

For the calendar of events and The Hop locations, visit avl.mx/ees.

Business of Farming Conference

Farming is hard work — ask any farmer. And at the annual Business of Farming Conference, you can. Presented by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), the event on Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Mission Health/A-B Tech Conference Center brings together professional farmers from across the Southeast region to network and share resources for growing their farm businesses. Designed for aspiring, beginning and established farmers, the event offers more than a dozen workshops on marketing, business planning and financial management. Experts will also be available to provide farmers with individual support. This year’s conference will have a special focus on poststorm recovery and resilience.

ASAP offers early bird pricing of $75 per person or $125 for two farm partners who register together until Saturday, Feb. 1. On Sunday, Feb. 2, the price increases to $95 and $165, respectively. A limited number of full scholarships are available for BIPOC farmers or those with limited resources.

For more information, avl.mx/c7w.