Ashvegas Hot Sheet: Popular Mechanics says Asheville’s great for start-ups, more

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Some of what’s going around:

-“Stay Sketchy special” from Hotel Indigo: The Hotel Indigo in Asheville is offering a “stay sketchy special” for a limited time, available to locals who live within a 90-mile radius.

-Wicked Weed new tank: The arrival of New Belgium Brewing’s big tanks last week caught media attention, but they’re not the only Asheville beer makers ordering new tanks. Wicked Weed’s sour beer Funkatorium recently welcomed a 60-barrel tank. From WW on FB:

We know we already posted about the 60 barrel tank arrival yesterday, but we couldn’t resist this second post. Look how little that 15 barrel looks in the back! Our heart is warm with sour beer love. And yes, that is a full sized brewer man next to the tank.

-Hop Circus: Hi-Wire Brewing in Asheville is planning to launch a new hop-centric beer series called Hop Circus. Look for a bottle release by the end of the month or first of February.

-Burial Beer releases: Here you go:

Today 1/13 a special keg of Skillet Donut Stout aged on French Broad Chocolate nibs and coconut. Served with special Vortex Doughnut doughnut holes drizzled in chocolate and sprinkled in coconut while supplies last.

Thursday 1/15- We are hosting a Counter Culture Coffee tasting of the coffees used in Skillet Donut Stout, Thresher Coffee Saison and Fixie Single Lot Session. We are also releasing The Rosary Belgian Export Stout- Made with an abundance of black and brown malts, this might be our most roasty offering to date. But the add complexity we designed the beer after our favorite Belgian export stout, with a fruit-bearing fermentation with a quality Belgian yeast strain. Expect coffee and plum aromas and a rich, yet not too sweet, flavor.

Friday 1/16- Chekku Wit release- a traditional wit brewed with orange peel and lemongrass. Refreshing with a subtle sweetness complemented by the vibrant flavors of the lemongrass.

Sunday 1/18- Jazz Brunch + Voorhamer Imperial Stout will make an appearance!

-Mission Hospitals gets a ranking nod: US News and World Report ranks Mission Hospitals #5 on its list of best hospitals in North Carolina.

Popular Mechanics names Asheville one of “14 Best Startup Cities in America”: In the latest edition of Popular Mechanics, Asheville is listed second as one of the 14 Best Startup Cities in America. Early online reaction reveals that not everyone thinks Asheville is a great place for startups to do biz. From the website:

Asheville is awash in startup breweries—Wicked Weed (see?), Green Man, and about 20 more. Many are supplied by Riverbend Malt House, which grows and processes local grain. Launched in 2011, it recently secured expansion funding through the Accelerating Appalachia incubator, which backs sustainable agricultural and food startups.

Venture Asheville, a public–private partnership, is the primary business accelerator in town. It’s the headquarters of the Asheville Angels, a network of seasoned executives looking to back startups, and the Venture Asheville Mentors, which pairs established entrepreneurs with new ones. Asheville’s status as a sweet college town and haven for neo-hippies isn’t fading; it’s just changing to reflect the influx of people who see no harm in making a little money.

-Help with taxes: UNC Asheville will provide free tax preparation help at two downtown sites in February.

-Nine Mile West lunch: I had lunch at Nine Mile West (on Haywood Road) on Monday, and it was delicious. Get out and check em out.

-Growing food and climate change: From a press release:

How will a changing climate affect the way we farm and what we eat? How do we build resilient and sustainable food systems? These questions and more will be explored on January 26 at a talk and panel discussion at the UNC Asheville Sherrill Center.

The talk features Dr. Laura Lengnick, author of the forthcoming book Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate and lead author of the recent USDA report “Climate Change and U.S. Agriculture: Effects and Adaptation.”

Dr. Lengnick’s talk will be immediately followed by a panel discussion featuring local food system and climate change leaders who will share their work to understand and prepare for climate change and to build resilient food systems. The panel discussion will be moderated by Charlie Jackson, Director of ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project). Panelists will include Dr. Lengnick; Jim Fox, Director for the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC); Sally Eason, CEO of Sunburst Trout Farms; Dr. Allison Perrett, Researcher with ASAP’s Local Food Research Center.

This event will be held at UNC Asheville’s Sherrill Center in the Mission Health Mountain View Room (SHE 417). It will begin at 7:00 pm (doors will open at 6:45 p.m.) and conclude at 8:30 p.m. Admission is free.

-Troy Ball of Troy & Sons featured on Huffington Post: The Huffington Post, via MarloThomas.com, features the story of Troy Ball of Troy & Sons Distillery in Asheville. Marlo Thomas has a new book featuring inspiring stories of women in business. From the story:

Through it all, Troy says, “I was willing to do whatever I had to do to achieve my goal, whether that was manning the still in the freezing cold for hours or dragging around five-gallon buckets of mash. And when you roll up your sleeves and work like hell, other people want to jump in and work with you.”

In 2010, Troy and Sons distillery got its federal license, and in 2011, Charlie quit his job to come work for the company, which moved from John’s farm to downtown Asheville, right next to the Highland Brewing Company. Troy and Sons spirits are now available in ten states. And only two years after it started, the company was selected by Disney to join a short list of liquors sold at its resorts across the country. It’s their first big-volume account and a major coup in the liquor industry.

-Asheville’s Avadim Technologies announces big revenue increase: Avadim Technologies, Inc. on Tuesdayannounced an annual revenue increase of 474% based on preliminary unaudited 2014 financial results, according to a press release. The company makes skin care products aimed at reducing infections acquired inside hospitals. From the release:

Avadim’s total gross revenue for 2014 is expected to be approximately $1.4 million, up from prior year (2013) revenue of $244,000. The fourth quarter revenue is expected to be approximately $598,000, an increase of 459% over the fourth quarter 2013 of $107,000. 2014 fourth quarter revenue results show a 94% increase over the third quarter’s $307,500.

Steve Woody,  Avadim’s CEO, will give a presentation at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning in downtown Asheville during the 1 Million Cups networking event.

-Clemson architecture students re-imagine BB&T building: Last fall, a group of Clemson University architecture students participated in a semester-long project competing for best design while using Asheville’s BB&T building as the basis for the academic exercise. Douglas Hecker, associate professor of architecture at Clemson and an Asheville resident, led the exercise.

A panel of jurors comprised of faculty and professional architects reviewed the student projects and selected a winner and two runners-up. The $1,000 award for best design went to Brad Mann, a third year graduate student in architecture. Courtney Proctor and the team of Sheida Moin and Carey Nelson won $250 prizes as runners-up.

MHG-Tower, LLC, a development group including McKibbon Hotel Group and Glenn Wilcox, owner of Asheville’s BB&T building, partnered with Clemson for the contest. “We were thrilled that Clemson’s architecture program took an interest in our project, and we were excited to see how the next generation of designers approached giving our building a second chance at life,” said Erik Rowen, vice president of development for McKibbon Hotel Group. “These students represent the future of architectural design, and they were faced with the challenges in design than the architects had 50 years ago when the BB&T building was originally conceived.”

Unfortunately, we’ll never see how the talented students re-imagined the BB&T, the tallest building in downtown Asheville. A McKibbon spokeswoman says images aren’t being released so there are no misconceptions about upcoming renovations to the building. The BB&T will be renovated in the next couple of years to accommodate new residential and hotel space.

3 Comments

jtroop January 14, 2015 - 9:05 am

Jason – Any chance of getting your hands on an image of the BB&T rendering? It would be neat to imagine what could be …..

jtroop January 14, 2015 - 9:07 am

nevermind…. i didn’t read to the bottom….

jtroop January 14, 2015 - 9:07 am

crap

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