After two years away, Asheville City Market returns downtown. Also: Jettie Rae’s Oyster House welcomes The Pearl; Holeman and Finch Public House debuts brunch menu; and plenty more!
What’s new in food: The Pot Stirred prepares for grand opening
The Pot Stirred, a new CBD cafe, prepares for its launch. Plus: Elevated Kava Lounge opens in West Asheville; Valentine’s Day events; and more!
What’s new in food: Franny’s Farmacy South Slope grand opening
Franny’s Farmacy continues its expansion. Plus: Cultivated Community Dinner Series launches latest Spring Series; Asheville Truffle Experience returns; and plenty more!
Nonalcoholic beers offer alternatives and risks for those in recovery
The decision for many to forgo alcohol poses challenges when it comes to socializing. For some, the recent boom in the nonalcoholic beer industry provides a tasteful way to participate in a beer-saturated city. For others, the new brews, which are nearly identical in taste to the real thing, are viewed as too tempting to try.
What’s new in food: Asheville Independent Restaurant Association hires new executive director
Asheville Independent Restaurant Association hire Kim Murray, co-owner of Creekside Taphouse, as its new executive director. Plus: Asheville Tea Co. offers Dry January recipes; MANNA FoodBank announces new chief executive officer; and plenty more!
Charles George VA leads virtual reality use for veterans
Caitlin Rawlins, innovation specialist for the Western North Carolina Veteran Affairs Health Care System, remembers vividly the first time that a patient at the Charles George Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center long-term care facility used virtual reality. “She had cognitive impairment, a history of needing stays on our inpatient psychiatric ward because of agitation […]
What’s new in food: Molly Nicholie discusses her new leadership role with ASAP
ASAP prepares for its new executive director. Also: Mother Earth Food expands its mission with recent grant; Chow Chow announces 2022 dates; and more!
What’s new in food: Welcome back Welcome Table
The Haywood Street Congregation readies to welcome back diners to its Downtown Welcome Table. Also: West End Bakery expands its hours and menu; several new restaurants celebrate recent openings; and more!
Q&A with Jane Carter, therapist and small business coach
There are thousands of books containing business advice on topics like brand development, marketing, startup funding and networking. But less frequently addressed are the psychological and emotional impacts of being a business owner. That’s where Jane Carter, who holds dual professions as a therapist and a business coach, comes in. She guides her clients through […]
Q&A with Stephanie Swepson-Twitty, CEO of Eagle Market Streets Development Corp.
The Block, an area that spans Eagle and South Market streets in downtown Asheville, was once home to a vibrant residential and commercial district for Black residents. But between the 1950s and 1980s, Asheville’s urban renewal policies that sought to address allegedly “blighted” areas of the city by removing homes and businesses to make way […]
Q&A with Jill Sparks, executive director of A-B Tech Business Incubation and Small Business Center
Unlike modern job-hoppers who switch roles every few years, Jill Sparks jokes that she’s a “monogamous worker.” She spent over six years at Appalachian State University, primarily in career planning services, and for the past 16 years, she’s worked at A-B Tech. As executive director of the community college’s Business Incubation and Small Business Center, […]
Local nonprofit workers discuss pandemic burnout
As the executive director of True Ridge, a Hendersonville-based nonprofit serving Western North Carolina’s Hispanic population, Lori Garcia-McCammon has never had an easy job. Her organization helps survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and refers clients to bilingual mental health counselors. Recent years have been straining, as many of the Central American immigrants her […]
Mountain Raise connects small businesses with local investors
Mountain BizWorks is hosting its second Mountain Raise Wednesday, Nov. 10, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Hi-Wire Brewing. The event features five WNC businesses — Cardstalk, GreenLifeTech, North Cove Leisure Club, Spectra3D Technologies and SteakAger — that will present their fundraising goals to the community in the hopes of drawing local investors from all income levels and walks of life.
Q&A with Katherine de Vos Devine, a lawyer who ‘speaks artist’
Originally from North Carolina, Katherine de Vos Devine found herself uprooted at a young age when her father moved the family to New York City for a new job. In many ways, this transplant shaped Devine’s life. “I grew up in a diverse and bohemian apartment building, surrounded by actors, dancers, artists and elderly Ziegfeld […]
Asheville works to partner with women- and minority-owned businesses
The city’s Minority or Woman Business Enterprise Certification, a process that officially went into effect on Jan. 1, is designed to help entrepreneurs build their businesses and get more opportunities for government contracts.
What’s new in food: Benne on Eagle welcomes new chef
Benne on Eagle hires a new chef, We Give a Share welcomes an executive director, the Getaway fries fish on the river and more local food news.
What’s new in food: Buxton Hall BBQ fires up the smoke again
Over the last 18 months, Buxton Hall BBQ has undergone a literal trial by fire(s) before reopening to indoor diners Aug. 19 with a new look and expanded menu. The CliffsNotes: Like everyone else, the eatery closed its dining room in March 2020 in response to COVID-19, launched takeout, then reopened in July 2020 only […]
What’s new in food: The Market at Underground Baking Co. eyes its relaunch
The Market at Underground Baking Co. in Hendersonville is on the cusp or reopening. Also: New Origin Brewing Co. opens, Chop Shop Butchery returns to in-house workshops and plenty more local food news.
Biz Briefs: Blue Ridge Pride debuts LGBTQ+ business alliance
Blue Ridge Pride, a nonprofit supporting the LGBTQ community in Western North Carolina, launched an online business directory for LGBTQ-owned and inclusive businesses called the Blue Ridge Pride Business Alliance on June 25. The directory, available at BlueRidgePride.org/Business, includes retail, food and drink, leisure and services and other categories. Businesses listed in the BRPBA directory […]
New Black-owned businesses populate The Block
Over the past year, the addition of such Black-owned businesses as the Noir Collective collaborative shop, Jawbreaking fashion store, Asheville Iridescence Yoga and Sole82 sneaker boutique has suggested a renaissance for the former Black Wall Street. Yet in a rapidly changing city where obstacles for minority entrepreneurs remain rampant, sustaining that growth could prove challenging.
What’s new in food: Summer rolls in with a fish fry on Fourth of July
Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church hosts a fish fry to help raise funds for needed repairs. Also: biscuits with a purpose, cake at the WNC Farmers Market and Erin Jordan heads to Queen City.