The WNC Chefs Challenge competitions are set to heat up Tuesday nights at The Century Room at Pack's Tavern on 20 S. Spruce St. in downtown Asheville. The weekly competitions pit two teams of chefs against each other in a battle of culinary chops. À la Iron Chef, there is a secret ingredient and a […]

Two neighboring businesses on Charlotte Street are back in business after a hiatus. For the Chop Shop Butchery, the break was not planned — a few pipes burst on the upper floor of the building, soaking everything below. The business is now dried off and ready to satisfy all of your meaty needs. The Chop […]

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners earlier this month voted to give $50,000 in start-up money to the GO Kitchen-Ready Training Program, managed by Green Opportunities and Mark Rosenstein, founder and former owner of The Market Place. Suitably funded, the program is ready to offer training in food-service skills, including food safety and sanitation, nutrition, […]

The now-shuttered Mo Daddy's won't be empty for long, says owner John Atwater, who closed the business because "it wasn't making any money," he tells Xpress. Atwater plans for Mamacita's Baja Kitchen to open sometime this spring at the former Mo Daddy's location at 77 Biltmore Ave. The Baja Kitchen will offer table service and […]

Mother Earth Produce recently crossed our food radar, and we think the produce-delivery company is a novel idea. The business is run by two young entrepreneurs, Andrea and Graham DuVall, who recently ditched the corporate world to make fresh and local food more accessible by bringing the farmers market to area homes. All orders are […]

Once every minute or so, a camera fixed on the interior of Donatelli Cake Designs, an under-construction pastry shop at 57 Haywood Street, clicks as it takes a photo. Eventually, the images will be compressed into a time-lapse film, a documentation of one woman's efforts to turn her dream into reality. In March, Karen Donatelli […]

Chai Pani is expanding, says owner Meherwan Irani. But don't worry, the Indian street-food restaurant that's made a big splash (appearing in the New York Times and GQ Magazine, among others) isn't going anywhere. The restaurant's owners are also taking over the floor below them (the two levels are connected by a back stairwell), turning […]

The Old World Bakery, previously located in Fletcher, is now open at Merrimon Square. The bakery has taken over the unit that once housed Crème Patisserie. Baker Jacques Delaunay, who owns the spot with his wife, Miriam, bakes in a true old-world style, having picked up the craft at the age of 15 in France, […]

Locally made Smiling Hara Tempeh has been approved for distribution in all of the nearly two dozen Whole Foods grocery stores in the Southeast. "We're really excited. It's kind of mind-blowing," says Sarah Yancey, who owns the cultured-bean product business with her husband, Chad Oliphant. "It kind of fell in our laps, honestly," Yancey says. […]

In celebration of Curaté tapas bar's first anniversary (has it been that long already?) the restaurant will host a showing of the movie El Bulli: Cooking in Progress at the Fine Arts Theatre on Monday, March 5. A question-and-answer period with Curaté's Katie Button and Felix Meana will follow the movie presentation. Button is fresh […]

The Vanuatu Kava Bar has moved to a new location at 15 Eagle St. and now offers a very affordable lunch. The alcohol-free bar serves kava, a root-based drink that’s said to offer relaxation without disturbing mental clarity. The venue also offers smoothies, various teas and other beverages. Owner Andrew Procyk recently brought a new […]

On Tuesday, Feb. 28, your choice of dining venue can help save the lives of area dogs and cats. Many Asheville-area restaurants have chosen to participate in the Animal Compassion Network’s ninth annual Dine to Be Kind benefit. Portions of the proceeds those restaurants generate during breakfast, lunch and dinner will benefit the ACN’s efforts […]

At first, it looked like bad news. Cucina 24 Deli — home to stacked sandwiches on house-made breads and delicious fresh-baked cookies — was closing. However, all is not lost. Though Cucina 24 Deli is indeed closed (the space is to be used as a private dining area), the restaurant has added lunch service of […]

Tupelo Honey Café is opening a restaurant on the first floor of The Oliver Hotel, a 28-room historic boutique property located in Knoxville, Tenn. Constructed in 1876, the building originally housed the Peter Kern Bakery. In 1982, the building was converted into the Blakely House Hotel and housed VIP guests for the World’s Fair. The […]

Want to sample some of what the Asheville food scene has to offer on the super-cheap? Heck yes, you do. The Small Plate Crawl that's become so popular in Hendersonville over the past few years is coming to Asheville later this month. The event sounds like an awful lot of fun, with a good number […]

If you're the type that enjoys visiting bigger cities for the variety of international restaurants (beyond sushi or enchiladas), we have great news for you: Stonebowl Korean Restaurant has opened in south Asheville. It's interesting enough that, with the opening of the Korean-Mexican food truck El Kimchi, we now have two options for Korean food. […]

The historic Ritz Café building at 44 Market St. in downtown Asheville is getting an update. The three-story structure recently housed the now-shuttered Jamaican restaurant, Simma Down, as well as Hole-N-Da-Wall, a still-thriving music club that opened in 2010 on the second floor. When Simma Down shut its doors earlier this fall, Hole-N-Da-Wall owner Lennie […]