Despite the destruction of its East Asheville facility, Western North Carolina’s main hunger-relief hub is finding ways to serve the community. Also: updates from Equal Plates Project, WNC Food Systems Coalition, Food Connection and Asheville Independent Restaurants.
The longtime Asheville restaurateur and co-founder of Asheville Independent Restaurants Association is looking ahead to a slower pace — and a new business venture.
The executive director of Asheville Independent Restaurants looks back at a year of success and change for Western North Carolina’s food scene.
The volunteer-driven program offers recovery support groups that leverage the camaraderie inherent in the food and beverage industry.
“We are continually amazed by the philanthropic nature of our culinary and hospitality community here and how generous they are to the local community,” says Mary Nesbitt, chief development officer of Asheville-based hunger relief nonprofit MANNA FoodBank.
Data recently collected by the Asheville Independent Restaurants organization shows that WNC eateries contribute enormous amounts of money and time to the local community. But given the hospitality sector’s notoriously slim margins, how do these businesses manage to be so generous?
Tod’s Tasties transforms into All Day Darling, Taste of Asheville turns 10, Galactic Pizza opens on Sardis Road and more Asheville food news.
The New York native looks back at 23 years of running her family-owned pizza business in Asheville.
For this year’s Taste of Asheville, Asheville Independent Restaurants will partner with the local busking collective to highlight the city’s street performers.
Asheville restaurateurs Peter and Martha Pollay anticipate a 2018 launch for the two independent eateries they will operate within the planned Arras mixed-use project.
Asheville’s annual Goombay Festival offers learning and networking opportunities for culinary trainees.
Fifth Season’s new East Asheville location caters to homebrewers; Full Circle Farm Sanctuary hosts a vegan cookie swap; AIR Passports are now for sale; local restaurants collect items for youths in need; and Strada Italiano hosts its annual traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes.
Foodie festivals continue in WNC with Taste of Sylva’s downtown restaurant crawl. Meanwhile, Organic Growers School is poised to train a new crop of farmers; Ambrozia will host a wine dinner with Metro Wines’ Andy Hale; and Taste of Asheville tickets are now on sale.
In Asheville, many restaurateurs realize that cooperation trumps competition. The local culinary scene is well-known for its collaborative spirit, and behindtheapron.com, a new business-to-business website recently unveiled by Asheville Independent Restaurants, aims to enhance and expand that synergy. Unlike AIR’s current website, which is mostly consumer-based, Behind the Apron was created to be a resource for the organization’s 120-plus member restaurants. […]
Everything from beef tartare to torched marshmallow s’mores was on the menu last night as Asheville Independent Restaurants celebrated the local food scene with its annual Taste of Asheville event.
Asheville Independent Restaurants readies for Taste of Asheville, WNC Health Advocates hosts a fundraising dinner, King Daddy’s adds breakfast, Loretta’s goes late-night and Black Mountain Ciderworks throws a Rabelaisian Feast.
One of the most notable aspects of Asheville’s culinary community is its focus on camaraderie rather than competition. Tangible proof of this phenomenon is the success of Asheville Independent Restaurants, an organization formed in 2002 by a group of local chefs and restaurant owners who joined forces to create a united front for the betterment of Asheville’s […]
A bigger and better CiderFest; expanded hours at Dough; A-B Tech’s Harvest Moon fundraiser and the date for Taste of Asheville 2014.
Xpress recently talked to Pollay about the challenges of creating a palate-pleasing gluten-free menu, his work with Asheville’s restaurant community and his excitement about bidding farewell to winter.
Next week Asheville Independent Restaurant Association’s Small Plate Crawl will offer an affordable and fun way to get a broad sampling of the area’s culinary offerings. Tuesday-Thursday, Feb. 25-27, more than 20 AIR-member restaurants will feature special, low-priced small-plate menus with a price range of $3-$8, providing the perfect opportunity for a midweek night out on the town. 
On Dec. 28, Posana Cafe welcomed the winter sunshine: Sundance Power Systems installed a sun-powered hot-water system. Here’s photographer Bill Rhodes’ account of the rooftop adventure.
