Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
AshevilleRAD.com has updates. First this:
The Junction is now open for lunch and dinner! Chef Boswell’s Soup, Salad, Sandwich for lunch… small plates @ the bar to match those fresh from the market cocktail treats by Sharon Wallis. The Junction is located on the south end of Pink Dog Creative @ 348 Depot. Charles & Tanya say hours are: Monday thru Thursday 11am to 11pm… Friday 11am to midnight… Saturday 4pm to midnight… Life is good!
I stopped in to see for myself. It looks fantastic. Can’t wait to try the food and cocktails.
And this:
Ben & Laura, of White Duck Taco Shop, had us over for lunch today… hallelujah! delicious fish tacos!! yummy chipotle crema, fresh mushroom & goat cheese tacos (with potatoes and caramelized onions) & you guessed it, Duck Tacos!… WDTS opens to everyone on Friday, May 20, 2011… Hours are 11am to Dusk everyday except closed on Mondays… & The Hatchery Studios should be up and running with painters & a clay co-op by early June… just in time for the June 2011 RAD Studio Stroll on the 11th & 12th.
The River Arts District is coming of age. Get down there now to check out all the amazing creative energy that’s happening there. The Asheville Citizen-Times‘ Carol Motsinger has been chronicling the changes there. From her story today:
The movement toward establishing the River Arts District as a nighttime eating and drinking destination has accelerated with the opening of White Duck Taco Shop, as well as The Junction on Depot Street.
The Junction opened Wednesday in Pink Dog Creative, the former home of a textile manufacturer that also now houses artist studios, galleries and the Asheville Area Arts Council. The brightly-colored building will celebrate its official opening June 10 during the weekend of the River Arts District annual studio stroll.
Tanya Triber, who owns The Junction with her husband, Charles, stopped by White Duck Taco Shop Friday to pick up lunch for her husband, who hasn’t really slowed down since their restaurant opened, she said.
She invited Mixson and Reuss to their “soft opening” earlier in the week. (A “soft” opening precedes the official grand opening, allowing business owners to work out any kinks before celebrating.)
But he trusts in his investment in the area, he said. A native of Columbia, S.C., he met Tanya while living in Portland, Ore. He’s seen the flourishing of similar post-industrial neighborhoods in cities like Portland.
The two couples’ support of one another’s ventures speaks to the district’s emphasis on collaboration over competition.
“There is a real sense of us all wanting to work together,” said Chall Gray, owner and producer of The Magnetic Field, a café, bar and theater on Depot Street that opened more than five months ago. He ate at The Junction Friday afternoon.
“(Restaurateurs) are working together to get people to come to the River Arts District to let people know you can come here to eat and drink,” Gray said.
For Charles Triber, The Junction is “being established before the big wave” of development of more diverse cultural options in the district. “We have about two or three more years,” he said.
