Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Altamont Brewing on Haywood Road in West Asheville is expanding into the 3,000-square-foot restaurant space just vacated by Nona Mia, which closed this past weekend. Gordon Kear told me this morning that he’s excited about the move.
The plan is to open a “fresh-in, fresh-out” style restaurant that will play on the strengths of the Asheville food scene, as well as Kear’s existing relationships with the local farm community. Kear is a Warren Wilson College graduate who says he wants to bring that farm-to-table eating experience to his regular customers. It’s the same approach the brewery has brought to its beer-making, Kear says.
“I know a lot of local farmers. I get my CSA from a local farm. I want to support them,” he says, adding that he wants to do it at a price point that’s more affordable that some might find in other Asheville restaurants.
“The menu will be simple and small and on time,” Kear says. “It will be beer-centric. We’ve got a great pizza oven over there, and so we’ll definitely have pizza. But it will be changing all the time.”
Inital plans call for a paint job to brighten the interior of the restaurant, Kear says. “We’ll knock a hole in the wall” to connect the two spaces, as well as new railing, which run along the Haywood Road frontage. The railing will further connect the spaces and define the front open area, and allow for more outside seating.
Altamont Brewing opened as a bar in March 2011 in its location, a former low-rider garage. It began brewing beer in December 2012, and has steadily developed its location at 1042 Haywood Road since then.
“We’re excited. When we started, we had $40,000 and two credit cards. We almost didn’t have enough money to buy beer because we spent all our money getting open,” Kear says. But community and neighborhood support has been strong from the beginning, Kear says.
“We’re just excited.”
Unfortunately, this won’t help the actual beer they are brewing over there.
Great, another brewery serving small plates. We need another dozen places like this in asheville to really spread the alcoholism
Awesome – happy for these guys. Love their vibe.
Great. Now they will just have more space for patrons to experience their terrible customer service. Gonna make me miss Nona Mia’s even more.
way to spread the love
Just being honest. Not every business expansion makes sense.
By your logic, this business should not expand because they have what you think is terrible service.
That’s fucking stupid…and simply shows that you don’t have a clue as to the whys and wherefores of this expansion.
I can say that I have always received great service at the Altamont Brewing Company.
That doesn’t mean I would think it’s a great idea for them to expand.
Well, you’re in the minority if you have received good service. It’s been below average since day one. I supported them for a l-o-n-g time because I live down the street but simply cannot deal with being served with an attitude. That, and their beer is average at best. But, they allow dogs into the same building that they brew the beer, so what should one expect?
I wish them luck in their new endeavor…but they’re going to need it.
I think the staff there are great and friendly.