Hot Sheet: The Freeze set to reopen; Manicomio Pizza remodeling; Mary's Mountain Cookies coming to downtown location; Track at Asheville to raise money for Ukraine; more
Also, Black Mountain Montessori is enrolling students for school and summer camp
This story sponsored by Citizens Fuel Co., a family-owned Asheville company.
Here’s more of what’s happening around town.
The team at The Freeze at 1091 Patton Avenue says the ice cream shop is aiming to open March 24. Opening day was delayed after a tree fell on The Freeze's roof recently and damaged the building.
Elevated Kava Lounge has opened in the space upstairs from Thai Pearl restaurant at 747 Haywood Road in West Asheville.
Manicomio Pizza at 27 Biltmore Ave. is planning some major remodeling, to include moving a non-structural wall and the relocation of a walk-in cooler.
Golden Chips eatery is coming to the Dingle Creek Shopping Center at 1800 Hendersonville Road.
Mary’s Mountain Cookies, a chain of stores that serves up freshly baked cookies, is in the works in a former leasing office inside the AC Hotel at 10 Broadway St. downtown.
In case you missed it, several Asheville chefs and restaurants are in the running to win a prestigious James Beard Award. Chai Pani, the Indian street food restaurant by chef/owner Meherwan Irani, is a finalist in the Outstanding Restaurant category. Cleophus Hethington is a finalist in the Emerging Chef category. He’s the chef at Benne on Eagle restaurant. Katie Button of Cúrate restaurant, which features authentic Spanish cuisine, is a finalist in the Best Chef Southeast category, while Cúrate Hospitality, Button's restaurant company, is a finalist in the Outstanding Hospitality category. The awards will be announced during a June 13 ceremony. See the full list of 2022 James Beard Award nominees here.
Brian Haynes, his wife Susan and son Dillon, are opening a new record shop at Wedge Studios. Records in the RAD should be open April 1, Susan tells me. Longtime Asheville residents will recall that Brian once had a beloved record shop at the corner of Coxe and Patton avenues in downtown Asheville called Almost Blue.
Kontoor Brands, a clothing company that markets denim designs under the Lee, Wrangler and Rock & Republic brand names, is coming to the Asheville Outlets.
Bash & Co. Salon, a hair salon, is coming to new retail space at 190 Hendersonville Road.
The Grateful Dog, a daytime play care center for pets, may be coming to 452 Riverside Dr., according to a permit seeking early assistance from the city’s development services department. The first phase would use existing buildings, while a second phase would expand the doggie play space to a wider portion of the property. There are also plans for a bar inside a shipping container, according to the permit application.
A new 2-story commercial building featuring four retail units on the ground floor and an office on the second floor, as well as parking for 40 vehicles, is planned for 680 Haywood Road in West Asheville. That location is currently a partially demolished car wash.
A 4-story multifamily building with three units and parking in the basement is planned for 99999 Roberts St.
Remember Me Tattoo is coming to 76 Glendale Ave.
Sauna House plans to install a pre-fabricated barrel sauna on its existing front patio.
Is passenger train service ever coming back to Asheville? The Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains, a group of committed proponents, continues to push for it and received a promising report recently from N.C. Department of Transportation officials, who say that Simpson Engineers & Associates is working on an updated analysis to determine the feasibility and cost of restoring passenger rail service between Salisbury and Asheville and/or Asheville and Greensboro. That feasibility study should be finished by December. (Thanks to loyal reader Adam for this intel.)
Karly Sindy, the Asheville woman whose Toyota truck has been sporting a FART personalized license plate issued by the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles for the past few months has been told by DMV officials that she can no longer have that plate. The plate was produced despite the fact that the word “fart” is one of dozens of words DMV officials don’t allow on a personalized plate. DMV officials took note when someone complained to them after seeing Sindy’s plate. (The DMV will issue her a new plate, but she’ll be allowed to hang on to the FART plate, she says.) Her online and social media campaign to try and convince the DMV to allow her to keep the plate - she started a group called Friends of Asheville Recreational Trails and put up a website - created quite a social media buzz over the past few weeks, resulting in several newspaper and TV news stories, as well as an appearance on the Jimmie Kimmel Live show.
The Track at Asheville, which features top-notch car racing simulators, plans to hold a virtual race at 6 p.m. on March 29 to raise money for the UNICEF Ukraine Children’s Fund. The racetrack will be a virtual recreation of the Autodrome Chaika, located near Kyiv. The entry fee will be a pay-what-you-can format, with the chance for people who aren’t racing to “sponsor” a driver. Check out the Facebook event for more info.
Black Mountain Montessori School has announced open enrollment for the 2022-23 school year. The school offers an authentic Montessori education for both preschool and elementary students. Small class sizes for preschoolers (age 3-6) and lower elementary (grades 1-3) are offered here under one roof, providing an ideal option for parents with children in various grades seeking an alternative to the traditional school environment, according to a press release. With enough interest, the school anticipates reviving its upper elementary class as well to grades 4-6. “Most people think half-day preschool when they hear Montessori,” says Head of School Erin Van Note. “But there is Montessori beyond preschool, and we are one of the few schools in Buncombe County that offers Montessori learning to both preschool and elementary students.” Black Mountain Montessori is also offering summer camps for preschoolers (ages 3-6) starting June 27, 2022. Enrollment for their four, themed week-long sessions starts April 1 for the community. In Buncombe County, there are a trove of summer camp options for elementary students, but very few summer camps exist for preschoolers. Go to bmtmont.org for more details.
Black Mountain Montessori is a nonprofit, nonpublic, state-licensed school that was founded in 2003, and offers preschool and elementary school education. Serving Black Mountain, Asheville, and the surrounding areas, Black Mountain Montessori’s classrooms and materials are designed specifically for Montessori education. The facility and grounds include two playgrounds, basketball and beach volleyball courts, a small skate park, community garden, and a teaching kitchen. The mission is guiding preschool and elementary students to academic achievement, fostering a love of learning, building character, and instilling the importance of contributing to communities—local and worldwide.
Thanks for reading,
-j