Editor’s note: This short feature is one of several brief looks at local professional collaborations included in Xpress’ Business-to-Business Issue.
Justin Picone says some of his rooftop bar patrons are undecided on which is the more fascinating attraction — the venue’s magnificent view of Asheville’s skyline set against the Blue Ridge Mountains or Pillar Rooftop Bar’s “living wall.”
Centered on a large neon Pillar bar sign, the living wall is a kind of vertical planter, says Picone, who serves as the company’s beverage director. The wall on the sixth floor of the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Asheville is a riot of mosses, orchids and decorations that change with the seasons, Picone says.
Among the bar’s regulars is Asheville Rooftop Bar Tours, a company that curates a series of tours that include stops at nearly a dozen rooftop bars in Asheville.
“We get locals and visitors alike on our tours,” says Kaye Bentley, a retired postal worker who launched the company in 2018. “We love it, especially when our local tour guests discover Pillar Rooftop Bar for the first time while on a tour with us.”
There, as with all the rooftop bars her company spotlights, Bentley has forged a close working relationship with managers such as Picone. Asheville Rooftop Bar Tours even gave Picone and his staff their very own tour.
“We got to see firsthand what she does from her perspective,” Picone says. Such cooperation enables Picone to offer the guests a unique experience.
“We offer exclusive seating for that tour, usually outside in front of a fire pit,” Picone says. The bar also makes special cocktails that aren’t on the menu, he continues.
“Usually, we do something local in regards to produce, or [serve] something from a local distillery,” Picone says.
Bentley’s love of Asheville’s architecture and history inspired her to launch the company centered on stunning views, craft cocktails, the best seating in the house and, in Pillar’s case, a rooftop aerie that is a bit off the beaten path
“It’s easy for folks to concentrate in the center of downtown,” Bentley says. “But there are some amazing [rooftop bars] just a little bit outside the major city blocks in Asheville.
Near the corner of Church and College streets, where a marker commemorates Lillian Exum Clement Stafford, the first female member of the N.C. House of Representatives, Pillar is something of a hidden gem, says Bentley.
“A lot of times, even locals haven’t heard of these [places] or been there yet,” Bentley continues. “Whenever they discover them on a tour with us, they [start] making plans to come back.”
As a local living in Asheville, Bentley says it’s encouraging to see familiar and welcoming faces at the rooftop bars her company highlights throughout the year.
“Strengthening and supporting our community means a great deal to me,” Bentley says. “Our commitment is to show what makes Asheville so unique.”
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