As winter approaches, an uptick in business could be on the menu for local meal delivery services.
Asheville Independent Restaurant Association fights to help members stay aloft
The organization has been forced to cancel it’s two biggest annual fundraisers, but it continues to support the city’s local restaurant industry.
Two new specialty chicken restaurants are ready to hatch
October will see the second coming of King Daddy’s plus a new rotisserie chicken concept from Chai Pani Restaurant Group.
Warren Wilson College Farm expands its meat sales outlets
A partnership with the ASAP Farmers Market and a recently launched online sales platform are making the college’s pasture-raised meats more accessible to consumers.
Local cookbooks and chefs provide inspiration for cooler temperatures ahead
Spicy soups, baked apples, buckwheat pancakes and cheesy dips are some of the recipes Asheville chefs and cookbook authors lean into as cold weather approaches.
Food court: Restaurants serve memories that linger beyond the meal
Our beloved, memory-triggering local restaurants are deeply personal keepers of happy experiences.
Asheville restaurants and food businesses are betting on the future
Tasty Greens, GRIND, Morsel Cookie Co. and Leo’s House of Thirst are among the many new food and beverage businesses opening this fall in Asheville.
Delayed but undaunted, new restaurants open for business
More than most new businesses, restaurants are vulnerable to vagaries beyond their control, and COVID-19 has created even more speed bumps on the path from “opening soon” to “now open.”
Asheville relishes chow chow, the quintessential Southern condiment
Cookbook author Ashley English describes chow chow as a “democratic” condiment. “There are so many permutations and iterations, you can customize it the way you want.”
WNC apple orchards are open for socially distanced picking
With safety precautions in place and plenty of outdoor space, local orchards welcome guests for U-pick and other activities.
Food Court: Introducing Kay West’s occasional column on the local culinary scene
Though my friends and family were taken aback when I suddenly — to them — decided to leave Nashville, they were delighted at my destination. “Asheville? I love Asheville!”
Charlie Hodge turns his downtown bar into Bodega on Broadway
“I never thought I’d be selling candy bars,” restaurateur Charlie Hodge admits with a laugh. Yet PayDays and KitKats are among the hundreds of sundries for sale in Hodge’s newest enterprise, Bodega on Broadway.
Cottage food businesses offer creative ways to connect with community
“We saw immediately that popcorn seemed to become a comfort food with parents sending it to their kids, friends to friends, companies to staff working remotely,” says Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn owner Ginger Frank.
Restaurants convert parking lots, sidewalks and streets to open-air dining rooms
With permission from the city, businesses with private parking lots can now convert 50% of their parking area to dining. To expand onto public sidewalks, businesses must be able to maintain 6 feet of clear space for diners and pedestrians.
Farms innovate fresh models for COVID-19 agritourism
A late June report from the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association found that 77% of growers reliant on agritourism had seen reduced income since the start of COVID-19. But as the pandemic continues, Western North Carolina’s farms are finding safe, creative ways to share the agricultural experience with visitors.
Newly opened and nearly opened restaurants took a COVID punch in March
Restaurants that were set to debut or relaunch during the state’s pandemic dining room shutdown find creative ways to persevere.
Independent restaurants grapple with whether and how to reopen for in-house service
Dazed and confused might best describe the reaction from local restaurateurs to Phase 2 of the state’s COVID-19 reopening plan, with side orders of determination and ingenuity.
WNC farms grow new markets through community
The region’s small farms have been rocked by the coronavirus, but community support and innovative thinking have enabled many local growers to pivot and persist as they work to find a way forward.
From AVL Watchdog: $5M TDA relief bill for small businesses helps hotels too
Coronavirus relief is just the latest topic in an ongoing debate over whether the Tourism Development Authority, with its mission to bring ever more overnight guests to Buncombe County, is good for county residents — or just good for the hotel industry that has controlled it since its inception nearly four decades ago.
Asheville independent restaurants struggle to stay in business
Initially seen as a lifesaver, the Paycheck Protection Program has instead become a lead weight around the necks of many independent restaurants.
BCTDA outlines COVID-19 tourism impacts, response
In the first weekend of March, said Explore Asheville’s Marla Tambellini, hotels throughout the county were at roughly 90% occupancy. By March 27-28, only about 15% of rooms were filled, and the average price for those accommodations was approximately half its usual rate — $80 instead of $160.