The executive director of Asheville Independent Restaurants looks back at a year of success and change for Western North Carolina’s food scene.
Tag: Asheville Independent Restaurants
Showing 1-19 of 19 results
Ben’s Friends Asheville supports restaurant workers coping with substance abuse
The volunteer-driven program offers recovery support groups that leverage the camaraderie inherent in the food and beverage industry.
Tourism industry supports local nonprofits
“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.
Asheville’s independent restaurants donate millions of dollars annually to local charities
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?
Small Bites: Tod’s Tasties turns into All Day Darling
Tod’s Tasties transforms into All Day Darling, Taste of Asheville turns 10, Galactic Pizza opens on Sardis Road and more Asheville food news.
Quick dish: A Q+A with Christine Lane of Marco’s Pizzeria
The New York native looks back at 23 years of running her family-owned pizza business in Asheville.
Taste & Tunes: Taste of Asheville takes a musical direction
For this year’s Taste of Asheville, Asheville Independent Restaurants will partner with the local busking collective to highlight the city’s street performers.
Posana owners will open two restaurants in downtown’s Arras building
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.
Living soul: Goombay Festival partners with GO Kitchen Ready culinary training program
Asheville’s annual Goombay Festival offers learning and networking opportunities for culinary trainees.
Small bites: Fifth Season Gardening cultivates DIY lifestyles
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.
Small bites: Taste of Sylva supports town’s development
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.
Behind the Apron: Asheville Independent Restaurants launches a new online industry resource
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. […]
In photos: Taste of Asheville 2014
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.
Small Bites: Taste of Asheville 2014
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.
Asheville’s food pioneers: An interview with three of the founders of Asheville Independent Restaurants
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 […]
Small Bites: The return of CiderFest NC
A bigger and better CiderFest; expanded hours at Dough; A-B Tech’s Harvest Moon fundraiser and the date for Taste of Asheville 2014.
The Quick Dish: Chef Peter Pollay
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.
Crawl for your food
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. 
Posana Cafe gets even greener with new solar hot-water system
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.