Asheville Food Bites: Latest restaurant, bar, brewery openings, more events
ASHEVILLE - Spring restaurant, bar and brewery openings; chefs' tasting event celebrating local harvests; a three-day family-friendly festival with carnival rides and concerts; a cash prize for winning best Southern maker.
New food, beverage destinations
The spring has brought many new restaurants, bars and breweries to the city with more to come.
Guajiro Cuban Comfort Food truck has opened its sister concept, El Patio de Guajiro, at the Asheville Cotton Mill, 122 Riverside Drive. The indoor bar with an outdoor porch and patio offers beer, cider, bubbles, wine, seltzer, sake cocktails and more.
In April, Soprana Rooftop Cucina, an Italian-inspired pizzeria, opened at Embassy Suites by Hilton Asheville Downtown, 192 Haywood St. This month, the restaurant extended service to lunch from noon-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays with dinner from 5-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday.
On May 15, The Flat Iron Hotel opened in the historic Flat Iron Building at 20 Battery Park Ave. The hotel property includes several food and beverage concepts open to the public and guests, including the Italian-inspired restaurant, Luminosa, a rooftop bar and an underground speakeasy, The Red Ribbon Society.
On May 17, Terra Nova Beer Co.’s flagship brewhouse and taproom and Mission Pizza will open at 101 South Lexington Ave. on the South Slope.
On the same evening, Dssolvr will debut its wine and cocktail bar, Vowl, at 61 North Lexington Ave., next door to the downtown brewery.
On May 21, Chai Pani, an Indian street food restaurant, will reopen at its new location at 32 Banks Ave. on the South Slope.
Romeo’s Vegan Burger, a plant-based fast food restaurant chain, is preparing to make its Asheville debut at 540 Merrimon Ave, Suite 203. Visit romeosveganburgers.com and follow @romeosveganburgers for updates on opening day.
More food and beverage establishments are coming, including Flour at The S&W Market, The Whale’s third beer bar set for the South Slope and Cooperative Coffee in West Asheville.
Follow the Citizen Times for more food and beverage business news, openings and closings.
Chef bites, wine flights
The Utopian Seed Project will host its next tasting event for local chefs to showcase dishes made with trial crops produced by the Leicester farm.
On May 18, Trail to Table will be from 1:30-4 p.m. May 18 at The Plēb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St. in the River Arts District featuring chefs Luis Martinez, Mallory Foster, Brooke Adams and Steve Goff.
The suggested cost is $50 per person and includes two small plates from each chef and a small bite from Chef Sunil Patel who will lead a taro cooking demonstration.
A cash bar will be available.
Purchase tickets at theutopianseedproject.org.
GrindFest 2024
On May 24-26, GrindFest will return with live music, carnival rides, vendor markets, casino night, dance and workout sessions and more events for the community.
This year’s family-friendly event will be hosted at the A-B Tech Conference Center, 16 Fernihurst Drive.
GrindFest, a three-day festival showcasing businesses and people of color in the city and promoting community connections, is supported by Black Wall Street AVL.
"We're thrilled to bring GRINDFest back for another year of inspiration and empowerment," J Hackett, founder, said in a news release. "This year's lineup promises to be bigger and better, with a diverse range of artists, entrepreneurs, and change-makers coming together to showcase their talents and drive positive change."
Activities include laser tag, axe throwing, sumo wrestling, a kids’ zone and communal biking.
The festival is free with some ticketed events.
GrindFest Presents: Slick Rick & Doug E Fresh concert will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Salvage Station, 468 Riverside Drive. The all-ages concert costs $35 per person at ticketweb.com. View the full event schedule at grindfestavl.com.
Made in the South Awards
Garden & Gun, a multiplatform media company, is seeking entries for its annual Made in the South Awards, designed “to celebrate and encourage Southern craftsmanship, and to spotlight under-the-radar Southern-made goods.”
The six categories are home, crafts, food, outdoors, style and drink with a special sustainability award.
The overall winner will receive a $15,000 cash prize, a $5,000 increase from previous years.
All winners and runners-up will be featured in Garden & Gun’s December 2024/January 2025 issue.
"Looking back over the past fifteen years, we've had the honor to connect with so many unique and creative Southern innovators," Senior Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, David DiBenedetto, said in a news release. "These makers are the heart and soul of the South and being able to share their stories and create such an impact on their business is something we are incredibly proud of."
Past Asheville honorees have included Biscuit Head, the 2022 food winner, and Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn, food runner-up in the same year.
Entries will be accepted through June 17. The cost is $75 per entry. Apply at gardenandgun.com.
Stories you may have missed:
AVL Beer Week: More than beer, the citywide ultimate drink fest returns May 16-26
'Beverage mecca': Why people are flowing to WNC to launch careers in beer, spirits, more
Asheville 'Top Chef' contestant to release debut cookbook 'Our South': Sneak peek
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 Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville restaurant, bar, brewery openings, more weekend events
