West Asheville’s newest bar, The Admiral, got more attention during its first week of business than its owner expected. Located at 400 Haywood Rd., it replaces the former B & D Bar.
“It’s been about twice what we were anticipating,” said Drew Wallace, who opened the bar on Dec. 7.
Wallace and his business partners also run The Whig, a bar in Columbia, S.C.
Asheville has long been a target. “We felt this area needed a good bar,” Wallace told Xpress. “We’re not a sports bar. There are a lot of cookie-cutter bars in this town that feel like someone just slapped them down. We’re not that. We’ve got nice food. We’re the type of place where musicians hang out.”
From 5 to 10 p.m., Wallace said, the Admiral goes for a fine-dining establishment feel, with no smoking, New Southern cuisine and a menu that “changes almost daily.”
But after 10, smoking is allowed and “we turn the lights down and the music up,” says Wallace. That’s when the whole place starts to resemble more of an old-fashioned dive.
As for the nautical name?
“We had a list of about 150 names—this was the one everyone liked,” Wallace said.
I would love to call them right now and see if they are open but your article lacks the phone number information.