Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
There’s all kinds of stuff brewing in hot Ashvegas. Did you go downtown on Friday night? Simply abuzz with throngs of people. Saw a mariachi band on the corner across from Pritchard Park, a first for this downtown watcher, I believe. Just up the street, a klezmer band was turning out the tunes. Sweet.
But there’s more beneath the surface:
– Club Stealth: Club Stealth is the working name of the new velvet-rope bar being planned for the basement of the old S&W building on Patton Avenue in downtown Asheville. The building is an Art Deco gem, with the Steak & Wine restaurant on the ground floor and a swank bar on the second. Up top, there are condos. Down bottom, the plan is to add a schmancy club where the entrants feel special, and where the ladies will be allowed to get wild and dance on the bar. Is Asheville ready for a such a club? We’ll see. There’s already a speak-easy operating regularly in downtown, complete with a special password and secret entrance. We’ll deliver a full report on that sometime soon.
– The Altamont Theatre: There’s a sign up on the front of an old building on Church Street in downtown Asheville advertising the Altamont Theatre. While the drawing looks a bit like a movie theater, it seems obvious that the venue will serve as a downtown dinner theater. Without knowing any details, it appears to be another great entrant onto the downtown theater scene. Glazer Architects is doing the building work.
– The Sazerac: I got a sneak peek at the Sazerac bar coming soon to downtown. The new cocktail bar will be located on Broadway in the old Ambience Interiors space close to the intersection with Walnut Street. The shotgun shack infrastructure will be replete with fancy drinks, fancy little entres, and an upstairs bar and outdoor terrace with views down Broadway. Can’t wait.
– Pack’s Tavern: Turning the decrepit Hayes & Hopson building into a 50-tap tavern with great views of Pack Square Park is the amazing goal of developer Stewart Coleman, who owns the building and a controversial slice of adjacent land. His original goal, and perhaps his final one, is to build condos there, but in the meantime, he’s going full blast with the tavern concept. In my imagination, the place will be one big hotbed of courthouse lawyer and city and county government gossip. Can’t wait to be a fly on the wall in that place.
Murphy and RG,
Yes, original planned location of the Sazerac was to be the former Old Europe space on Lexington. That fell through. The new location is now the former Ambience Interiors space near the corner of Broadway and Walnut.
The former Old North State Clothing Store is a little further up Broadway – up closer to Pack Square.
Hey J.
On March 20, 2009 – you blogged that the Sazerac was gooing to be in the Olde Europe space and it would have a "club" in back called the Missionary.
Has the location changed to the former Old North State Clothing Store location?
Was The Sazerac originally supposed to be in the Old Europe Cafe? I thought I read something about that. Thrilled that it’s coming to Broadway–it needs a lift since the mess with the Windsor Hotel. Any news about that space?
Hey Ash ….
is that building where the Old North State Clothing Company used to be?
What is the scoop on them?
Who is/are the owner(s) of the new Bar?