West Asheville restaurant announces permanent closure after 10 years of service
ASHEVILLE - A West Asheville restaurant is closing after a decade of serving the community.
On May 4, Zia Taqueria announced via social media that the restaurant is permanently closing at 521 Haywood Road.
“We are so appreciative of the support from the community over the last 10 years. We will miss sharing our love of southwestern food with you and enjoying your company in the homey and historic space we have occupied,” the post read.
Dine-in service and online ordering are no longer available. However, Zia will offer to-go service only from 4-9 p.m. May 5-6 via phone, until supplies last.
The announcement teased that a new tenant will be taking over the location.
In March 2013, Zia’s brick-and-mortar restaurant opened. Earlier this year, it temporarily closed for renovations, Jan. 3-Feb. 17.
The changes included maintenance and improvements to the building’s exterior, dining room and bar. The menu was revamped to offer new dishes and more full-service style entrées. And the restaurant switched from counter service to traditional full table service, a decision that was to drive more profit to the business.
Food news: New Belgium's big event returns, vegan eatery coming, changes at Zia Taqueria
“Having an a la carte functioning restaurant where people come in and get one single taco, chips and salsa and get water didn’t work out anymore to a profitable concept,” co-owner and operator Robert Tipsword told the Citizen Times. “We needed to make it more about getting entrées, especially since we’re becoming a full-service restaurant and service would inevitably slow down a little bit comparably to the previous concept.”
On May 1, the restaurant was closed, citing not being able to operate due to a staff shortage.
The status of Zia’s Asheville food truck has not been confirmed.
Zia Taqueria has another location in Charleston, South Carolina, which is still open.
For more about Zia Taqueria, visit ziataco.com/avl.
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 help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: West Asheville's Zia Taqueria restaurant announces permanent closure
