Here’s a quick look around at some of the Asheville food news that’s popping off.
-Popeyes Louisiana Restaurant on Airport Road in South Asheville is now open, but their coveted chicken sandwich will not be on the menu until the end of the month. They’re not serving up chicken tenders yet, either. The restaurant opened quietly this past weekend, and people have been lining up ever since.
-Bargello, a new Mediterranean restaurant, and a bar/lounge called District 42, have opened in the lobby of the new Kimpton Hotel Arras in downtown Asheville. Peter and Martha Pollay of the Asheville restaurant Posana are the force behind the two independent eateries.
-A new 33,000-square-foot retail shopping building is proposed to be built at 275 Smokey Park Highway, the site of a redeveloped shopping center (site of the former Ramada Inn). A new Popeyes restaurant may be located here as well, according to permits
-The nonprofit Bountiful Cities in Asheville is planning to build a “food hub” to help support community gardeners in West Asheville, as well as the broader community, keep growing their own food. The location is in the Falconhurst neighborhood of West Asheville. The location would include a pavilion with two levels – the top level would have a kitchen space and room for community meetings and workshops; the lower level would have cold storage, sink and packaging area.
-Roots Hummus, which has finished building out a big new production facility next to Highland Brewing off Old Charlotte Highway, is planning a big private party later this week to celebrate. The 40,000-square-foot production facility will include tours to give people a close-up look at the making of Roots Hummus.
-Favilla’s has applied for construction permits to remodel space at 5 Regent Park Boulevard off of Patton Avenue in West Asheville for its new pizza joint.
-Highland Brewing has started bottling its beloved Cold Mountain winter ale.
-Green Man Brewery, which has a production brewery and tasting room on Buxton Avenue in downtown #Asheville, is building out a bar on the ground floor of 10 N. Market St., the former Vincenzo’s restaurant, a location that’s home to Polanco eatery upstairs.
-Storm Rhum Bar in downtown Asheville has a new owner. Jay Medford, the owner of the three-year-old Underground Cafe with DoughP Doughnuts in the basement of the Jackson Building, purchased the restaurant from Tom and Whitney Israel, who are also the owners of Pack’s Tavern. Medford is teaming up with his wife, Megan Medford, and his in-laws, Chuck and Robin Jones, for Storm.
-Laura Reuss, co-owner of White Duck Taco in Asheville, says she’s looking to open a new restaurant in Hendersonville on Seventh Avenue, but that it won’t be a taco shop. The Hendersonville Times-News has a story here.
-Steven and Stephanie Paulson, the couple behind the cheesy delicious Melt Your Heart food truck in #Asheville, are planning to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Black Mountain. It’s called Open Oven, and it’s opening soon.
-Chef Steven Goff of AUX Bar in Asheville was named the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association’s “chef of the year” recently after a competition at Angus Bar’s Bay 7 in Durham. Some 20 chefs from across the state competed in a cook-off judged by experts. Johnny Burritt, representing Apothecary Beverage Company in Asheville, was named the association’s mixologist of the year.
-The next generation of Dunkin’ Donuts locations has opened on Airport Road near the Asheville Regional Airport. It features a tap system for its coffee drinks and a pick-up area for people who order items via the Dunkin’ smart phone app.
-I’m guessing that the Vermont Avenue Halloween folks in West Asheville gearing up for another big Halloween party – it will be here before we know it.