Eyes on the future: Saving WNC’s farms
Robin Reeves is the sixth generation to grow up on her family’s Madison County farm — a lineage that dates back to before the Civil War. Reeves spent much of her youth helping her parents raise cattle, burley tobacco and tomatoes as well as her extended family in Sandy Mush. As an adolescent, she sold […]
Arancini Italian Kitchen brings fresh casual to West Asheville
A new fast-casual Italian eatery is taking over the Haywood Road space previously occupied by Pineapple Jack’s.
In photos: 2015 Asheville holiday parade
The 2015 Asheville holiday parade featured nearly 100 entries including marching bands, dance and cheer squads, nonprofits and businesses. This year’s parade theme is “Joy to the World.”
Of time and the city: Issues facing Asheville in Wolfe’s youth mirror today’s concerns
Asheville and environs have seen considerable change in the 77 years since Wolfe’s death, yet many of the aspects he wrote (and sometimes fumed) about seem uncannily familiar. And as current residents ponder the challenges the city faces today, a look at several of the celebrated author’s key themes might prove instructive.
It takes a village: French Broad Food Co-op announces expansion proposals
The iconic community-owned food market and grocer has announced initial plans to expand its current space on the 60-100 block of Biltmore Avenue and is reaching out to community organizations and the city of Asheville to begin discussions on the possibility of a massive multiuse facility.
Food for thought: City Council candidates weigh in on local food policy
From improving food access to supporting urban agriculture, the six Asheville City Council candidates shared their views on local food issues at a recent forum hosted by the Asheville Buncombe Food Policy Council.
In photos: Taste of Our Carolina Foothills food and wine event
Foodies and wine lovers braved the drizzle Sunday, Sept. 27, for the second Taste of Our Carolina Foothills, a food and wine event held at Overmountain Vineyards in Tryon. About 45 food and beverage artisans were present from the foothills and surrounding areas 60 miles east of Asheville. Restaurants, bakeries, wineries, distilleries, craft breweries, cheese makers and specialty […]
High tension wires: Duke Energy and Henderson County residents at odds over proposed transmission lines
Power giant Duke Energy’s proposal for a 45-mile transmission line through Western North Carolina, part of the company’s multifaceted Western Carolinas Modernization project to upgrade and integrate the mountains with a larger regional power grid, is meeting staunch opposition from residents since the company announced its intentions in mid-July.
Survey findings may help stem the loss of farms in WNC
Making a living as a farmer is tough anywhere, but it’s particularly true in the North Carolina mountains. Western North Carolina lost 18 percent of its farms — more than 2,800 — in the 15 years between 1997 and 2012. And the majority of existing WNC farmers today are nearing retirement age — many of them without heirs who plan to keep the farm going.
One of a kind: Venture Local Fair celebrates Asheville’s unique character
There’s a crossroads between Buxton and Banks avenues, even though they don’t intersect. These blocklong, parallel, South Slope streets are lined with places to buy things, eat, drink and make merry: a chocolate factory, a doughnut shop, three breweries, two bars, a beer-and-wine store and the newest barbecue joint in town, among other businesses. The […]
Organic Growers School Harvest Conference returns for its second year
The Organic Growers School’s second Harvest Conference on Saturday, Sept. 12, offered 26 workshops focused on fall and winter growing, cooking, fermentation and preservation, self-reliance, herbal medicine and homestead skills.
Green building thriving in WNC despite legislative threats
Amid a hostile legislative climate in Raleigh, innovative, sustainable design and construction are flourishing in Western North Carolina. The WNC Green Building Council was founded in 2001. Since then — and despite an unstable housing market — local interest has grown steadily, says Maggie Leslie.
Green Opportunities’ new director gets his feet — and his shoes — wet
As the new executive director of Green Opportunities, the green jobs training program that works with low-income Asheville residents, George C. Jones plans to continue the environmental consciousness that was practiced by previous leadership, but his tenure will be guided by his business background.
LAST CALL for a nonprofit hero: $1,000 prize goes to Julian Award winner
Do you know a young person who works hard doing good for not much money? That deserving person may be eligible for Asheville’s first Julian Award, a $1,000 cash prize that will be given this fall at the kickoff of Mountain Xpress’ Give!Local campaign for local nonprofits.
Overhead Costs
All new business ventures have their ups and their downs, but does dealing with city regulations make starting one up in Asheville more of a headache than in other cities?
Growing pains: Craft brewing comes of age
North Carolina has always had a complicated relationship with alcohol. However, alcohol has consistently been an economic driver in North Carolina, as it still is, with 130 craft breweries as of 2014 – the most of any Southern state. As the craft brewing industry in the region grows into a multimillion-dollar business, the desire to review the statutes and improve communication with state officials has come to the forefront.
Upcycled fashion creates an eco-friendly and uniquely Asheville look
In a way, upcycling is like the recycling we do with our cans and bottles: It also uses that concept of reusing and reducing waste material — but it’s not exactly cut from the same cloth.
Modernizing the market: New features and higher rent at the WNC Farmers Market
The agriculture department has released a master plan for the WNC Farmers Market calling for everything from LED fixtures and improved signage to a new brew pub, outdoor dining and increased rent for businesses leasing space from the state-run facility.
Mother Earth Produce wins big in Tap The Future semifinals
Local farm-to-door produce delivery service Mother Earth Produce won big last night in the the Miller Lite Tap The Future small-business competition semifinals in Atlanta, taking first place among a pool of 30 contestants and bringing home a $20,000 award.