Salt Face Mule Brewing Co. 'not another brewery,' opening soon in Asheville area

Tiana Kennell, Asheville Citizen Times

Updated August 5, 2023 at 8:59 AM·8 min read

ASHEVILLE - In the land of beer, the announcement of another brewery coming to the area raised the eyebrows of some cynics, but as opening day approaches it’s becoming more apparent that Salt Face Mule Brewing Co. is in a league of its own.

“At first it was a lot of, ‘Oh, another brewery.’ But now that people are really seeing what we are doing, we’re keeping it family-oriented – it’s a lot of good feedback,” said general manager Christopher Luce. “People are excited. They’re going to be able to go to a brewery, get food, which half the breweries don’t have food, they just have beer.”

Salt Face Mule Brewing Co. is slated to open at 450 Weaverville Highway in Woodfin.

The projected August opening may be delayed until September.

In addition to an in-house brewing program, Salt Face Mule will be equipped with a full kitchen serving a menu centered on regional food. Plus, there’s the expansive game arena in its backyard that will set it apart.

Salt Face Mule in Woodfin is under construction.

Salt Face Mule’s main building is estimated at 6,000 square feet and sits on a 3-acre property, said Anthony Randolph, managing member of Twisted Laurel Restaurant Group, which also owns Twisted Laurel restaurants in downtown Asheville and Weaverville.

The site is the former home of Play Staytion, an entertainment venue with two 18-hole miniature golf courses, a batting cage and a go-kart track out back. However, the business closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and its permanent closure was announced in January 2021.

The unfortunate event left the property vacant until the group of entrepreneurs agreed to invest in revitalizing it in a way that would still appeal to a family-centric audience, as well as align with the restaurant group’s goals.

“We like new things. We’ve been talking about brewing beer for the restaurants for many years,” Randolph said. “During the pandemic, we saw that this building sat empty for a pretty good while, so back in October 2021 we purchased the building.”

Randolph’s co-partners on the project are Alan Ray and Andy Stoker.

Salt Face Mule will continue as a multifaceted entertainment destination with some of the old favorites revived and new assets introduced. However, it will significantly differ from what the last building tenants offered, as well as offer a different dining experience from Twisted Laurel.

Playing at Salt Face Mule

Stage 1 of Salt Face Mule’s business plan includes debuting the restaurant and brewery and the existing miniature golf course, which offers 36 holes along two paths for guests to putt their way through.

Randolph imagines mini golf will motivate fundraising opportunities.

Salt Face Mule will utilize an existing miniature golf course behind the brewery.

“Not everybody plays golf, but anybody can play mini golf,” he said. “We think we can make a lot of good things for the community and for people with good causes.”

Phase 2 will reintroduce the former go-kart racetrack as a speedway for remote control vehicle racing. The concrete structure near the track will serve as an event space.

As a part of the third and final stage, the batting cage area is planned to reopen without the balls and bats. It will be converted into another event space.

The partners are considering rolling out a bocce ball area and setting up televisions and video game consoles in the go-kart garage, Luce said.

“Just a good place for families to go. I’m a family man — I’ve got two kids. Just wanting a place where kids come, hang out with their families and have a good time,” Luce said. “A little bit of fun for everybody. It’s going to be something we don’t have around here and something that families will enjoy.”

Eating at Salt Face Mule

The extensive renovation has included erecting two bars at either side of the dining room that will be open for placing food and beverage orders. QR-code menus will be at each table.

(From left) Salt Face Mule’s Chef Frank Davi, Kitchen Manager Craig Bechthold and Director of Culinary Operations Greg Buchanan.

A merchandise room near one of the bars will sell Salt Face Mule branded products.

A spacious commercial kitchen was constructed where previously there was only a small kitchenette, Randolph said. It will allow the experienced kitchen team to deliver a food concept that contrasts Twisted Laurel’s.

Salt Face Mule’s full downhome pub menu will be rooted in the Appalachians with traditional dishes prepared with a “twist” and using fresh and local ingredients.

“The focus here is going to be Western Carolina eclectic Southern style from scratch,” said Executive Chef Francesco Davi. “At Twisted Laurel, the difference is the varied menu. They have a varied international choice as far as cuisine goes.”

While Salt Face Mule’s focus will be on North Carolina classics, Lowcountry and Creole-style cuisine will dot the menu, too.

Greg Buchanan, director of operations, said he’s most proud of the peaches and pork entrée.

“That’s a dish I’ve had in my back pocket for a while,” he said “It’s pork shoulder braised with peaches and brown sugar. I’ve made it at home, and I’m a big fan of it.”

Davi recommends one of his favorites, pan-fried catfish served with succotash. The “colorful” and “bright” dish will be prepared elevated but still approachable.

Salt Face Mule will offer a complete kids menu, but many of the regular menu items are expected to appeal to younger eaters or may be adapted as miniature versions, like the hearty bowl of mac-and-cheese and chicken sandwich.

“Still all scratch-made and fun,” Buchanan said.

Gluten-sensitive, vegetarian and vegan options will be offered, such as grilled cabbage steak served on succotash with a cucumber salad.

For dessert, the team is considering rotating seasonal pies and a pork rind ice cream – ice cream topped with pork rinds and cinnamon sugar and a drizzling of house-made dulce de leche.

“It’s fun and interesting, and I think people will love that,” Buchannan said.

And combining forces of the food and brew menus, they’re testing out a specialty beer float that swaps out the traditional root beer soda with craft beer.

Drinking at Salt Face Mule

The name Salt Faced Mule is a playful reference to a phrase used by Randolph’s friend and longtime Yancey County resident, Sam Jones.

Nearly 30 years ago, Randolph first heard Jones use one of many mountain sayings to express his level of dehydration, “thirstier than a white face mule.”

Ray Dobens, head brewer at Salt Face Mule in Woodfin July 17, 2023.

“I told him, I’m going to use that one of these days,’” Randolph said.

It also resonated with Randolph on a familial level.

“My grandfather lived to be 91 years old, and he farmed his entire life, and he never owned a tractor or a truck,” Randolph said. “He did it all with horses and mules, and I remember seeing his mules and horse look like that.”

Some of Salt Face Mule’s beers will be named after other Appalachian idioms.

Head brewer Ray Dobens, who has about 20 years in the beer industry, has worked at breweries including Harpoon Brewery in Boston and Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard.

At Salt Face Mule, Dobens is preparing to crank out a series of European-style beers on the 10-barrel, three-vessel system. He will begin with light lagers with 4.5% to 5% alcohol by volume.

IPAs and hazy IPAs will come down the line later. He’s got a few other things up his sleeve, too, he said.

“My focus is always going to be light, drinkable beers,” he said. “It should complement that food and allow you to play a few rounds of mini golf easily, and the RC cars should be a lot easier to drive when you’re drinking some session beers.”

Other offerings will include zero-proof beer, locally sourced wine and cider, regional handcrafted beverage brands like Waynesville Soda Jerks, a soda fountain stocked with Coke products, and a lot of sweet tea.

Phase 3 of Salt Face Mule’s business plan includes expanding into selling spirits at the bar, though there’s no timeline set.

Dobens said he’s glad to have another gathering spot in the area for beer lovers and wider community.

“It’s a pretty unique experience putting all these components together – the mini golf and brewery and the RC track. It’s just a lot of fun,” Dobens said. “It’s going to be a great place. People are going to be able to have a lot of fun here. I like watching people have a good time, and it’ll be nice to see everybody fill the space, and the community aspect of it is really exciting.”

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This story has been updated to reflect that the location of the brewery is Woodfin.