Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Visitors to Izzy’s Coffee House in West Asheville can expect a coffee shop with a neighborhood feel and excellent drink and snack options, according to owners Kristin and Ross Britton, who will celebrate the shop’s grand opening on Friday and Saturday.
The couple has operated the beloved Izzy’s Coffee Den on North Lexington Avenue in downtown Asheville for the past five years. They jumped at the chance to expand and serve West Asheville. Izzy’s Coffee House is located at 976 Haywood Road, the former location of Waking Life Coffee, which closed last year.
An experienced woodworker and cabinet maker, Ross Britton took on remodeling duties and completely revamped the space. Britton knocked out a wall separating two downstairs rooms, and is working on making some upstairs seating available. The space is still intimate, with a new counter, new booths and expanded outside seating. The decor has a similar aesthetic to the downtown Izzy’s location, with lots of natural wood and black trim.
The layout of the space was modeled on the downtown location, Britton said, to maximize speedy service. “Efficiency was important to us,” he said. “People measure out their time to get to work, and they carve out five minutes to get coffee, and if that’s delayed, that’s frustrating. We want people to have a good experience.”
To that end, several parking spaces in front of Izzy’s Coffee House will be marked and reserved for express customers who just want to get in and out.
Another feature of the West Asheville Izzy’s revolves around drink options. First, the shop is no longer serving Counter Culture coffee exclusively, which opens up the chance to serve coffee from different roasters, Kristin Britton said. And the shop goes beyond coffee in that there are five wines by the glass on the menu, and another four or five by the bottle. The shop will offer beer by the bottle, and there are plans to offer two rotating kegs. Snacks include crackers baked in-house, a selection of cheeses and an apple-carrot vegan loaf that’s a favorite of many. 
It all adds up to a creating a friendly spot for people to come together and enjoy a drink and a snack.
“There are so many ways to make coffee and do all that, but I think whether it’s about relaxing or working, it’s about the community and the conversation and happens over a cup of coffee,” Ross Britton said.
About the grand opening event
Kristin and Ross Britton, owners of Izzy’s Coffee Den in downtown Asheville, will celebrate the grand opening of Izzy’s Coffee House in West Asheville on Friday and Saturday with some special treats and kid-friendly activities by Macaroni Kid. Proceeds from the grand opening weekend will go to benefit Brother Wolf Animal Rescue and Our Voice. Izzy’s is located at 976 Haywood Road in West Asheville. Izzy’s Coffee House is open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Welcome to the neighborhood!
A piece of honest feedback — the fancy sign is not helping you. It looks large in this picture but in reality it isn’t, it blends in with the landscape and when driving by at 25 mph you can’t read the Coffee House text. Locals will become familiar but for all of the tourists that visit…they’ll zoom by not noticing at all. A big missed opportunity.