Yee-Haw Brewing Company eyes Asheville, with plans for restaurant, brewery and distillery

The South Slope location would include an outdoor beer garden, according to plans

Yee-Haw Brewing Company is considering this location at 100 S. Lexington Ave. for a restaurant, brewery and distillery. The parking lot and former auto parts store is adjacent to the Orange Peel music club and Wicked Weed Brewing./ photo by Jason Sandford

Note: This story sponsored by Citizens Fuel Co., a family-owned Asheville company.

More of what’s going around:

Yee-Haw Brewing Company, a fast-growing brewery based in Johnson City, Tenn., is proposing to build a restaurant, brewery and distillery at 100 S. Lexington Avenue, according to a request for early assistance from the city of Asheville’s Development Services Department.

The South Slope neighborhood location is home to a parking lot and former auto parts store that have been vacant for several years. It’s adjacent to the popular Orange Peel music club and Wicked Weed Brewing, with Bhramari Brewing directly across Lexington Avenue.

The South Slope has boomed in recent years with a wave of new development in the form of mixed-use residential projects, restaurants and breweries. Some folks call the area the South Slope Brewery District.

Yee-Haw Brewing proposes to renovate two existing buildings on the site. A second story added atop of the buildings would feature a roof deck and garden, according to city documents, while the parking lot would be converted into a beer garden. The design proposes 23,700 square feet of conditioned space, 6,210 square feet of covered outdoor space, and 13,960 square feet of open outdoor space, according to the request for assistance.

Entrepreneur Joe Baker started Yee-Haw Brewing in 2015 inside a historic railroad depot in Johnson City. It quickly became one of the Southeast’s fastest growing craft breweries, expanding with locations in Pigeon Forge, Nashville and Greenville, S.C. Baker is also the founder of the craft distiller Ole Smoky, the first federally licensed distillery in the history of East Tennessee, a region, it’s worth noting, with a proud history of unlicensed alcohol distilling activity (moonshine, y’all).

Yee-Haw’s Greenville outpost, which opened a couple of years ago then temporarily closed for renovations, reopened last year with a splashy new addition: a Prince's Hot Chicken restaurant, the first location for the legendary hot chicken eatery outside its Nashville home base. Could that be in the works for Asheville?

One other interesting aspect of Yee-Haw’s Greenville location is its collaboration with Dennis Thies of Green Man Brewery, one of Asheville’s oldest breweries. Guess we’ll see how everything develops here.

Consider signing up for a paid subscription to read more about these stories:

The Whale Craft Beer Collective on Haywood Road in West Asheville./ photo by Jason Sandford

-Asheville Drinks Map: The Whale swallows up a Charleston location; New Origin Brewing sets opening date; Hi-Wire Brewing moves ahead with RAD plans

-AVL Project Tracker: The return of RAD Lofts; 80 microhousing units at corner of Grove Street and Hilliard Ave; YMI Cultural Center renovations

-Asheville Eats Map: How The Hop revamped production, opened a new location and rebranded in the middle of a pandemic; Radha Indian Grocery in the works; more

-Asheville's home base for start-up scene set to grow, putting entrepreneurs front and center

Thanks for reading.

-j