Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Some of what’s going around:
-WLOS reports that somebody spray painted the words “Black lives matter” on the Vance Monument in downtown Asheville late Sunday or early Monday, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The vandals also spray painted what appears to be a noose on the monument to Zebulon Vance, a Conferderate and North Carolina’s Civil War governor who was from Weaverville.
-Izzy’s Coffee House opened Friday on Haywood Road in West Asheville. The location is the former Waking Life coffee shop, which shut down last year following a controversy involving its owners’ misogynistic online postings. In an Instagram post, Izzy’s said it was donating all of its proceeds from Friday’s sales to the local nonprofit Our Voice.
-The Asheville Downtown Association holds its annual State of Downtown Luncheon on Wednesday in the banquet hall of the U.S. Cellular Center. From the invitation: “You’ll hear more about the development of the ADA’s 2015-2018 strategic plan, review progress and challenges in 2015 and learn our priorities for 2016. We’re also finalizing some additional speakers to share exciting projects on the horizon for Downtown Asheville. We’ll also recognize our 2015 Downtown Heroes at the luncheon.
-Asheville’s hotel occupancy rate for last October, the biggest month for tourism in the city because of the draw of fall leaf color, was down 3.4 percent compared to the same month in 2014, according to revised numbers from the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau. Even though the occupancy rate dipped, October 2015 still ranked as one of the best years for occupancy because 2014 was so strong. Hotel sales were up nearly 12 percent, driven by a higher daily room rate. The average daily rate for October 2015 was $174.61, compared to $157.94 for October 2014. Total airport passengers came in at 1.8 percent higher for October 2015 versus October 2014.
-Word on the street: Favillas New York Pizza is opening in the former Grand Central Pizza space in Merrimon Square shopping center, 640 Merrimon Ave. (the old Circle in the Square location).
-The Hop Ice Cream Shop is making popsicles using Urban Orchard cider. The “hopsicles” are sold exclusively at the Urban Orchard tasting room on Haywood Road.
-Eater.com says Knife and Fork restaurant in Spruce Pine is “Best Reason to Stray from the Beaten Path” in its “Best of the Best: 2016’s Restaurant Superlatives.”
-American Craft Magazine has a write-up about Asheville’s River Arts District artists.
-WCQS radio station in Asheville is hiring a regional reporter to work 15 hours a week.
-Word on the street: Tiger Mountain, the bar on north Lexington Avenue, has new owners.
-The Asheville Citizen-Times is hiring a sports clerk. The newspaper is also hiring a business reporter.
2nd douche-bag & probable-rapist owned business being affected by community pressure in asheville? score.
who’s next??