Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Some of what’s going around, updated with latest details
-Permits were pulled for Brianna’s Irish Pub in downtown Asheville at 41 N. Lexington Ave., which is the location of The Southern Kitchen and Bar, but Southern owner Joel Hartzler says there’s no plan for the business to change hands. Hartzler said Tuesday afternoon that he was in negotiations with John Sciortino to sell Southern, but those talks broke down and there’s no action. The Southern is closed today for annual cleaning, but the restaurant will be up and running as usual starting at noon on Wednesday.
Here’s what Sciortino said on his web page that he had planned:
My goal is to become a member of the Asheville community through our family owned restaurant. The Asheville community is filled with diverse passionate people who enjoy what the city has to offer through all the activities of the area . Brianna’s Irish Pub will be a community driven restaurant reaching out to local organizations in Asheville. As the owner/operator of Brianna’s Irish Pub I’m invested in making the irish pub a great place to work and to gather.
-The city of Asheville wants to hire a consultant to do yet another parking study. The city says it is looking to address parking issues over the next 10 to 15 years. The city wants to investigate the feasibility of a downtown shuttle service. It also wants a consultant to look at a number of other issues, such as pay-by-phone and license plate recognition technology, single-space credit card meters and more.
-This week is Asheville Restaurant Week. There are some good food deals to be had.
-It might snow later this week. Ray’s Weather says there are a lot of variables right now, so we’ll have to wait and see. The storm is developing to hit around Thursday. We had a burst of snow early Sunday morning that left a dusting around town.
-New York Magazine rehashes the last year’s Waking Life controversy last year in Asheville, and profiles Jared Rutledge, the coffee shop’s former owner who shut down his business after outrage triggered by his online postings about his sexual conquests.
–Andrea Desky and Jonathan Robert of Asheville have produced a documentary about the activists who took down the Confederate Flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state Capitol last year. It’s called Climb to Justice. Desky was on the seen and filmed Bree Newsome as she scaled a flag pole that June morning to remove the flag.
Here’s the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a_OGu_P2K4
