The Ashvegas Hot Sheet: Elton John’s economic impact; new juice for Fiesta Latina; council kills apartment complex; update on new Weaverville pub; and more

Tuesday was a big news day. Some of what’s going around:

-Big concert: Elton John’s November concert in Asheville “will likely generate $1 million in spending as fans book hotel rooms and purchase food, drinks, gasoline, souvenirs and more, said Civic Center director Sam Powers,” reports the Asheville Citizen-Times.

-Cachita moves to AVL: Latin TV entertainer Cachita has moved from Miami to Asheville, the Citizen-Times reports, and she’ll be hosting this weekend’s Fiesta Latina at the WNC Ag Center.

-Kenilworth apartments dissed: Asheville City Council voted down a proposed 100-unit apartment complex in Kenilworth, according to the Citizen-Times reporter Joel Burgess.

Developer Frank Howington wanted to build Caledonia Apartments in Kenilworth’s south end above Swannanoa River Road. He said the project would help what he said was a crisis-level lack of rental units near downtown.

But the council voted the application down 7-0, with one council member saying there would have to be “substantial changes” for any future construction proposal on the steep slope to have a chance.  

Dozens of Kenilworth residents attended.

 

-New Weaverville pub: Joe Eckert, of Jack of the Wood and Laughing Seed fame in Asheville, is opening a new pub in Weaverville, reports the Beer Guy, Tony Kiss, of the Citizen-Times. 

He’s transforming the old Weaverville firehouse at 10 Main St. into a pub and restaurant with full bar and live music. He doesn’t have a name for the new spot, but it won’t be a second Jack of the Wood, as some have speculated.

“I’ve been looking (for a location) out there for a number of years,” he said. The former firehouse was a perfect spot, right at the beginning (or end) of Merrimon Avenue.

This location will be somewhat larger than Jack of the Wood, and it includes an upfront patio and a rear deck. Eckert will offer plenty of local craft beers, including Green Man ales, he said. He’s hoping to get it open by November.

-Mountain Xpress round-up: The Xpress reports a minor fire at Brixx pizza in Biltmore Park, as well as a hit-and-run at Westville Pub. There’s news about The Southern’s new backroom, the Dirty South, and word that Pizza Ritrovo on Haywood Road is up and running. Circle in the Square on Merrimon is staying open late to serve up slices. And check out the local food circle the Lexington Avenue Brewery has set up: 

The process goes like this. The LAB brews beer, and lots of it. The spent grain — close to 1,000 pounds per brewing cycle — goes to the cows. The cows from the LAB’s bovine herd are pasture-raised until the last few months of their life, and are then “finished,” to borrow an industry term, on said grain, once it’s supplemented with a little extra protein.

By the time a LAB customer orders a burger made from that beef and washes it down with a pint of LAB-brewed beer, the grain involved in the brewing of the pint is likely on its way to LAB Farms to feed the next round of cows. Ah, the modern-day circle of life — Asheville-style.