ASHEVILLE – A new, yearlong dining and food festival series kicks off; an elevated beverage bar to open in a nearby mountain town; a new restaurant tenant sets its sights on a recently vacated downtown venue.
AVL Food Series
This week, Shay & Company and Devil’s Foot Beverage Company will launch the AVL Food Series.
Ben Colvin, co-owner of Devil’s Foot, said the farm-to-can beverage company partnered with the event planning company on the multi-event program to bring local culinary artists to the forefront and connect the community over shared meals.
“There has to be a better way to showcase what’s awesome here to put the chef forward and to curate a better experience,” Colvin said.
Chefs will work with farmers, growers and producers in the chef-curated experiences, including seated dinners and all-ages indoor/outdoor food festivals. Ticket costs vary.
“There’s people and culture behind the food. It’s not just the plate,” Colvin said.
Events will be hosted at Devil Foot’s warehouse bar, The Mule, at 131 Sweeten Creek Road, suite 10., throughout the year.
Each dining experience will have a food-related theme from burgers to tacos, and to pizza to barbecue. Many dates have been confirmed on the calendar, like the Burger Bliss Food Fest on March 23, Wing Wonderland Fest on May 18 and Tacotopia Food Fest on July 27. More events will be announced.
AVL Food Series will launch with a pop-up dinner featuring Chef Michelle Bailey from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Feb. 22.
Bailey, a wood-fire pitmaster and former co-owner of Smoky Park Supper Club, will serve a four-course dinner with the assistance of her custom-built Santa Maria fire table, Jolene.
The menu of snacks and desserts will include dishes like the spicy bacon crackerjack and smoked peanut butter pie.
Pork loin and andouille sausage will be served with mustard jus, kraut, coal-roasted sweet potato, cider-braised winter greens and crispy sunchokes.
Charred radicchio, frisee, kale, pickled fennel, clementine, pomegranate with butternut Caesar dressing and sourdough will make up another dish.
Tickets are available to the inaugural event for $97.50 with an optional wine and beer pairing for an additional $30 per diner. The seating is limited to 75 guests.
“You’re going to meet the chefs,” Colvin said. “I want to make sure they’re seeing the people behind the food.”
Partial proceeds from the AVL Food Series will go toward the featured guests and the nonprofit designated for each event.
Bailey selected Our Voice, an anti-sexual violence and anti-human trafficking agency in Buncombe County, to benefit from the Feb. 22 dinner.
For more and to purchase tickets, visit AVL Food Series at shaybrownevents.com/avl-food-series.
New handcrafted beverage bar
A mobile mocktail bar that debuted in Asheville last October will open its brick-and-mortar venue this weekend.
On Feb. 24, Roll Up Herbal Bar owner Sam Kearney will welcome guests for the grand opening of the mocktail bar from 12-8 p.m. at 40 Commerce St. in Waynesville.
Roll Up Herbal Bar has served guests at Frog Level Brewing Company from its mobile and pop-up bar each week at 56 Commerce St. The new permanent bar is next to the brewery.
Roll Up Herbal Bar’s regular hours will be 12-8 p.m. Friday-Monday.
Door prizes, raffles and drink specials are planned for the grand opening celebration. The signature, classic Volkswagen Beetle bus that was revamped as the mobile bar will be on-site, weather permitting.
Kearney said the elevated, handcrafted zero-proof drinks have made a splash with customers across Western North Carolina with drinks like grapefruit, tangerine, lemon and basil-based Something Bright mocktail. And the fresh rosemary, lavender, lavender bitters and lemon zest blend called Something Signature.
Many are seeking alternatives to alcoholic drinks without sacrificing flavors, she said.
“The people who maybe experimented with Dry January realized, ‘Hey, I feel good about not waking up with a hangover, let’s keep this going,’” Kearney said. “And there’s plenty of people who quit years ago who are happy for another option other than club soda or n/a beer.”
Kearney said she takes a culinary approach to creating the recipes and takes it beyond a typical juice or soda.
“A mocktail should be a drink that you still sip and enjoy the complexities of the flavor profile,” Kearney said.
Kearney is transforming the former walled-off storage closet and thrift store into the home for what began as an all-mobile business, Roll Up Herbal Bar. She’s painted bright, colorful fruit murals on the wall and added a counter for sales.
Orders are prepared to-go but guests may stay to enjoy their drinks. The small but cozy space is less than 200 square feet and has four seats along its window counter.
The bar will allow Kearney to have a larger, dedicated prep and production space to create more recipes so the menu will be an expansion from what’s been offered on the mobile bar.
“Everybody tells me, ‘Oh my god, this is the ‘best nonalcoholic drink I’ve ever had’ or this is the best drink they’ve ever had,” Kearney said.
The mobile bar will continue operations at events and venues across WNC, including Asheville and Waynesville. Private event booking is available by request.
On Feb. 24, Frog Level Brewing will host a Maker’s Market with more than 30 artisans from 12-4 p.m. Admission is free.
For more, visit rollupherbalbar.com and froglevelbrewing.com.
New downtown restaurant
In January, Noble Cider closed its downtown taproom at 49 Rankin Ave.
A permit was submitted for Big Tikka Restaurant. Citizen Times reached out to the business and a representative said via email on Feb. 13 that the restaurant is slated to open in April.
More details to come.
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with asubscription to the Citizen Times.