Rage room, gourmet market opening in former Bonfire BBQ building in West Asheville

ASHEVILLE - Two new local businesses are preparing to bring flavors and fury to West Asheville this summer.

The Breakroom Rage Room, a concept that welcomes guests to destroy items to release steam, will open at 1054 Patton Ave., tentatively on Aug. 1.

The Breakroom Rage Room’s owners, Kelly Bridges and Kelly Lucy, shared a desire to open a business and saw an opportunity to break into the Asheville market with something new.

“Our goal was to have something in Asheville it doesn’t have yet, and it doesn’t have a rage room yet,” Lucy said. “Our goal here was to get something here that wasn’t just a bar or brewery, things like that. We wanted adults to be able to go and do something fun.”

Sage and Spice Market and Catering, a gourmet food retailer and event company, is intended to open in early August next door at 1056 Patton Ave.

Tori Frasher, chef and owner of Sage and Spice Market and Catering, has operated the catering service for several years, but this will be the introduction of a retail store where customers may stop in for gourmet hot and prepared meals.

“There’s nothing like that over there, and I feel like there are so many people on that side of town and parking downtown can be a pain,” Frasher said. “We’re already buying and cooking a lot of food for events, and we wanted to minimize waste and give locals an opportunity to have some of the food we’re doing for weddings and let our chefs have a chance to get out in the community a little bit more.”

One of her chef collaborators will be Sergio Castro, owner of Conosur Latin Fusion in Mills River, who will keep help keep the market stocked with dishes including empanadas.

The businesses are opening in the former Bonfire BBQ location, which closed earlier this year.

The commercial space has been divided into two separate establishments.

“We can put the rage on that side, and this is the happy side,” Castro said.

“Sage and Rage,” Lucy said.

More: Food News: Bonfire BBQ closes, restaurant openings, chef releases retail line in Asheville

Sage and Spice Market and Catering

Sage and Spice Catering will move its operations to the Patton Avenue kitchen, which will allow the chefs to enhance the client experience.

“We will have a tasting room for engaged couples to try their food or for people booking an event to try the food,” Frasher said.

Frasher works with a group of local chefs to curate and produce custom menus for special events.

More: Several Grove Arcade restaurants, retailers remain closed following gas leak

More: National cookie shop opening a new Asheville store, more to come to WNC

Frasher aims to directly connect to the Asheville community and reach more tables daily by offering hot and ready-made meals to walk-in customers.

Last month, Castro announced that his restaurant, Conosur Latin Fusion, would be closing after five years of business. Castro will offer some of the dishes from its business in Sage and Spice’s marketplace.

Also, the shelves will be stocked with locally produced products and beverages, such as beer, wine and cider.

“We will be serving frozen dinner so you can just grab and go. Grab a frozen dinner, a bottle of wine or beer and then go home,” Castro said.

Also, there will be a tea and coffee program that fits the grab-and-go business model.

The Breakroom Rage Room

The rage room concept, believed to have originated in Japan, has been popular for many years, and there are similar businesses in cities as close as Charlotte and Tryon and Greenville, South Carolina, Lucy said.

Bridges and Lucy have been planning the business’s debut since 2019 but were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rage rooms appeal to those looking to release anger and stress in a controlled space, Lucy said. She predicts The Breakroom will draw individuals and groups seeking to release daily life stress or process an emotional relationship breakup or merely have a good time.

“You can’t really do this at your house – you can but you might get in trouble or you’re going to break something you don’t want to,” Lucy said. “It’s just a fun thing to do, as well as rage therapy.”

More: Answer Woman: What's opening in the former Subway locations in Asheville? Chain closing?

The sessions will be by appointment that is booked online, which also will provide details for what guests will need before they arrive.

“On our website, you’ll be able to go in, sign a waiver, see what’s required like what you need to be wearing – close-toed shoes, no holes in your jeans, maybe a sweater or something like that,” Lucy said.

Before entering a rage room, guests will receive protective gear, such as face coverings, goggles, gloves and coveralls, then be armed with a bat.

Breakables in the rooms may include televisions, a car door and other things that can be smashed over and over, Lucy said.

Guests may go “shopping” on The Breakroom’s shelves for additional items they’d like to wreck. The breakable inventory includes various shapes and styles of glass bottles, plates and more. The type and number of items will differ by price and package.

Themed room party packages will be available later, like a room designed with a dining room table as if it was Thanksgiving Day or a tea party with plenty of teacups and plates for smashing.

The Breakroom also will have a paint room in which guests may splatter, throw and squirt paint onto a canvas that they may take home.

The rooms may be limited to 4-5 people. Larger groups may be split into separate sessions.

“Each room will have a Bluetooth so they can rage out to whatever music they want to,” Lucy said.

The Breakroom will be an alcohol-free zone. Soft drinks and energy drinks and snacks will be available for purchase.

Donations of items, such as old televisions, guitars and stereos, are accepted for drop-off.

The Breakroom Rage Room

Where: 1054 Patton Ave., Asheville

Opening: Early August

Hours: 2-10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Info: For more, visit thebreakroomavl.com and follow on Facebook and Instagram @thebreakroom_avl.

Sage and Spice Market and Catering

Where: 1056 Patton Ave., Asheville

Opening: Early August

Info: For more, visit sageandspicecatering.com and follow on Facebook. Catering requests may be submitted at the website.

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Rage room, gourmet market prepare to open in West Asheville