What’s new in food: Rosetta’s Kitchen reopens with commitment to inclusivity

FOOD FOR ALL: Rosetta's Kitchen owner Rosetta Starr, second from right, is pictured with volunteers and community members on Oct. 21, three weeks into the restaurant's post-Helene food-distribution efforts. Photo courtesy of Starr

On Sept. 19, downtown vegan restaurant Rosetta’s Kitchen posted new hours on its social media platforms: noon-9 p.m. daily. One week later, Tropical Storm Helene plunged Asheville into chaos and crisis.

If anyone had the experience, will and gumption to run toward and not from the disaster, it was Rosetta Starr, the restaurant’s owner and eponymous founder: Three days, after the storm, she was back in the restaurant, cooking her perishable inventory to provide free, hot meals for the community.

Yet, as the old adage says, no good deed goes unpunished, even when confronting catastrophe. When the landmark plant-based business added meat options to its free menu, backlash ensued.  

Rosetta’s opened as a vegetarian restaurant in September 2002 on Lexington Avenue when Starr was 24 years old. She soon added vegan and gluten-free items to accommodate more diners, eventually becoming fully plant-based and developing a devoted following of vegan customers. “My thing has always been to be inclusive, not exclusive,” she says.

After Helene, Rosetta’s offerings shifted out of necessity. “There was a lot of chaos in the beginning,” she says. “We had to scale up really big, really fast.” At that point, Rosetta’s was serving one hot meal a day on a pay-what-you-can basis from a kitchen powered mostly by Starr’s four grown kids and their friends volunteering. “My 2-year-old was not as much help as she thinks she was,” Starr says with a laugh. 

The nonprofit Grassroots Aid Partnership (GAP) distributed the meals and donated ingredients. Rosetta’s also received donations from purveyors and organizations, including national nonprofit Pulling for Veterans, which delivered 1,500 pounds of meat to Asheville for use by local groups feeding the community.

“We were doing 900 meals a day at that point and using what was donated to us to do it,” says Starr. “We did vegan, we did vegetarian, and we used some of the meat the vets brought; it was all prepared separately.”

When Rosetta’s added bison stew to its daily menu of vegan stuffed cabbage leaves, veggie soup and vegan fried rice, the beef hit the fan. “Some people came in, saw bison stew on the menu and walked out,” Starr says. “What really hurt were the one-star reviews people started leaving online and online harassment and bullying — a lot from our own community.”

The change provoked a war of words on Rosetta’s Facebook page, including scathing comments accusing Starr of abandoning vegans and animals. Others defended Starr’s integrity and generosity. Starr herself pointed out the extreme challenge of operating a business in the midst of an unprecedented crisis with no financial aid. In late December, The Guardian threw fuel on the flames with an article titled “Vegan No More: A Beloved Asheville Plant-Based Cafe Pivots to Stay Afloat Post-Hurricane.”

Starr notes that any animal protein on the menu at Rosetta’s was donated and offered in the interest of feeding people in dire need, rather than letting it go to waste. She was also trying to keep her business alive through the most severe economic stress it had ever endured. “We had absolutely no cash flow,” she recalls.

In December, Starr says, the business received a bridge loan through Mountain BizWorks that enabled it to rehire staff starting Jan. 1. The staff, menu and hours — currently noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday — are still limited as the restaurant scales back up.

The menu is primarily vegan, and Starr is committed to full transparency in labeling and fully separate prep and cooking areas and equipment. For the time being, some vegetarian dishes are also featured, and she will use, for example, Hickory Nut Gap Farm meats on occasion for daily “freegan” specials. “To me, ‘freegan’ represents reclaiming and using what’s available, usable, would otherwise go to waste,” she explains.

Starr is no stranger to feeding people in need. During the 2008 recession, Rosetta’s introduced weekly Cauldron Night. “Every Sunday for about a year, we made a huge cauldron of food and huge pan of cornbread and gave it all away,” she recalls. Twelve years ago, she launched Everybody Eats, a sliding scale rice and beans plate starting at $2.

“We love our vegans and respect their choices, but we ask them to respect others’ choices too,” she says. “There are more vegan options in Asheville now. If you don’t want to come here anymore because we have animal product in the building, that is OK. We can hug and be friends and love each other.”

Rosetta’s is at 68 N. Lexington Ave. For more information and updates, visit avl.mx/ef4.

Crêpe diem

Last April — nearly 20 years after opening his French bistro, Bouchon, on Lexington Avenue — Michel Baudouin announced that the business was for sale. The veteran chef/restaurateur wanted to slow down and focus on his larger East Asheville restaurant, RendezVous.

But shortly after the calendar flipped to 2025, Baudouin released another update: As of mid-January, the full-service Bouchon will downsize to Crêperie Bouchon, featuring counter service and a simpler menu of crêpes, salads, soups and sandwiches with a full bar.

For longtime Asheville diners, this change may feel like déjà vu. Baudouin operated a Crêperie Bouchon concept in the courtyard next to Bouchon from 2011-2017.

But truly, the most important question is whether Bouchon’s Best of WNC Hall of Fame frites will be served at Crêperie Bouchon. Bien sûr, assures Baudouin. “Wherever we are, there are frites!”

Bouchon’s last night of service was Jan. 5. Crêperie Bouchon will open for lunch and dinner Wednesday-Sunday starting at 11 a.m.

Bouchon is at 62 N. Lexington Ave. For updates, visit avl.mx/ef5.

New space for Rollup Herbal Bar

It was a happy new year for Sam Kearney, who celebrated the reopening of her Rollup Herbal Bar on the first day of 2025 in a brand-new location within a reimagined old space in Waynesville.

Kearney launched the mobile mocktail bar and nonalcoholic beverage catering service in a retrofitted 1971 Volkswagen bus in fall 2023. In February 2024, after weeks of 14-hour days on the build-out, she opened Rollup’s first brick-and-mortar in a former storage closet subleased from Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville.

“I kept telling myself, ‘It’s OK, because once it’s built, I don’t have to do this again for a long, long time,’” she recalls with a laugh.

Then flooding from Helene rolled over Frog Level, taking Rollup’s bar, equipment and inventory with it. When Kearney had an opportunity to lease a spot in Church Street Studios — a new community business hub inside a renovated historic school building in Waynesville — she says she was back in her painting clothes, living at Lowe’s.

Rollup is in the former principal’s office, which makes going to see the principal fun. The menu features culinary mocktails, locally made Sarilla sparkling tea, nonalcoholic beer and specialty lattes made with coffee or chicory. Adaptogenic herbs can be added to any drink. Snacks are also available.

Herbie the Volkswagen bus is still on the road and available for bookings for private events.

Roillup Herbal Bar is at 225 Church St., Waynesville. For more information, visit avl.mx/ef1.

Winter markets

Though winter is not peak produce time, many Western North Carolina farmers keep growing, bakers keep baking and hens keep laying. After a brief break, several year-round weekly tailgate markets are operating again. All are outdoors and take place rain, shine, wind or snow, so dress accordingly.

  • North Asheville Tailgate Market is back on the UNC Asheville campus at 275 Edgewood Road and open Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. until spring/summer hours start in April. avl.mx/bei
  • Asheville City Market sets up downtown on Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on North Market Street between Woodfin and Walnut streets. avl.mx/bfk
  • The River Arts District Farmers Market has a new home on the A-B Tech campus at 24 Fernihurst Drive, Wednesdays, 3-5:30 p.m. avl.mx/9ki
  • The Weaverville Winter Market has vendors both outside and inside the Weaverville Community Center at 60 Lakeshore Drive Wednesdays, 3-6 p.m.  avl.mx/ck8

Hot bar, hot stuff

By popular demand, Chai Pani has extended its Hurricane Hot Bar through Friday, Feb. 28. The restaurant introduced the hot bar when it reopened post-Helene in late October as a short-term, get-back-in-the-swing thing. The hot bar is available for lunch and dinner. Lunch is $16.99, dinner is $21.99. Kids ages 10 and younger are $9.99.

Chai Pani is at 32 Banks Ave. For more information, visit avl.mx/eey.

Tasty twosome at Gordingo’s

Birria ramen has made its seasonal return to the menu at Gordingo’s in Brevard. The small, casual restaurant mashes up Latin flavors with nostalgic dishes from owners Marc Kaufman‘s and Josh Chambers‘ childhoods — pastor wings, carne asada fries, Mexican pizza, chipotle cheesesteak and, of course, tacos, tacos and more tacos.

A surefire defense against winter’s big chill, birria is a Mexican stew made from marinated beef, lamb or goat meat slow-braised in broth. Gordingo’s birria ramen features brisket birria with ramen noodles, diced onion, cilantro, jack cheese, fresh cilantro and house-made chili crisp in a savory broth. The umami-packed flavor fusion is available every Thursday through the end of February. Because Gordingo’s is inside Ecusta Brewing Co.’s taproom, a cold beer is right at hand.

Gordingo’s is inside Ecusta Brewing Co. at 51 Ecusta Road, Brevard. For more information, visit avl.mx/eez.

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About Kay West
Kay West began her writing career in NYC, then was a freelance journalist in Nashville for more than 30 years, including contributing writer for the Nashville Scene, Nashville correspondent for People magazine, author of five books and mother of two happily launched grown-up kids. In 2019 she moved to Asheville and continued writing (minus Red Carpet coverage) with a focus on food, farming and hospitality. She is a die-hard NY Yankees fan.

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2 thoughts on “What’s new in food: Rosetta’s Kitchen reopens with commitment to inclusivity

  1. Voirdire

    so much heartfelt thanks to Rosetta and her volunteers! You all are a gift, period.

  2. RG

    The Rosetta’s story is typical of a certain subset of Asheville residents who (say they) want diversity but (prove time and again that they won’t tolerate) inclusiveness.

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