Arden restaurant reopens, first chef-driven dining events announced

ASHEVILLE - Traditional dining has been put on the back burner as a local chef prepares to serve new, fresh dining experiences to guests.

Last August, Ivory Road Café and Kitchen closed for regular service at 1854 Brevard Road in Arden.

Ower and chef Jill Wasilewski said she was ready to change after operating the restaurant for seven years.

Beginning in February, she will begin hosting unique, purpose-driven events in collaboration with local and regional chefs.

“Collaboration is my number one goal going forward. I want to work with different people,” Wasilewski said.

This month, Wasilewski announced the first events to introduce Ivory Road’s new format as a culinary event space dedicated to private bookings, wine dinners and other special occasions.

In March, Wasilewski plans to launch a chef-driven wine club that offers pairings and focuses on accessible, in-depth wine education in a communal atmosphere.

Also, Wasilewski offers limited supplies of rotating breads and baked goods that can be purchased and picked up weekly at Ivory Road. Menu and ordering details will be posted online.

Paving a path for Ivory Road

Ivory Road’s distinctive style, history and quaint neighborhood were part of what attracted Wasilewski to the property. She said the former family home was built in 1939 and was vacant for years before she purchased and converted the house into a restaurant that opened in 2016.

“I fell in love with it immediately,” Wasilewski said. “It was a little run down and it had been empty for a while. I loved the house the minute I saw it. I knew it was perfect for a little restaurant setting.”

Initially, Wasilewski imagined opening a bakery but decided that a breakfast and lunch restaurant with an in-house bakery was better suited.

“We did that for seven years, which were seven awesome years – I wouldn’t trade them for anything,” said Wasilewski, who won the People’s Choice Pastry Chef award at the 2023 North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association Chef Showdown.

Wasilewski said although the business made it through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it wasn’t until 2022 and 2023 that the ripple effects became most challenging.

“It got harder and harder and I’m not afraid of hard work, but it was just weighing too much on the personal life,” she said.

The chef said eliminating daily restaurant operations has allowed her to gain more control over her schedule and gain work-life balance.

Ivory Road events

Wasilewski said she intends to host eight events per month, on average, ranging from casual to coursed, fine dining experiences.

The first event will be a four-course, family-style brunch prepared by Wasilewski and fellow local chef Terri Terrell on Feb. 3. The meal will be served at 11 a.m. with a pre-brunch social hour at 10 a.m.

Each chef will present two dishes.

The menu features an apple, rose and cardamom crisp parfait with sorghum mascarpone, as well as kitchen pepper steak and caviar eggs with Sunburst Farms trout roe, crème fraîche and chives.

Mimosas, bubbly, coffee and hot tea will be available.

The cost is $55 per person.

On Feb. 23, local chef Luis Martinez, of Tequio Foods, will join Wasilewski for a five-course OaxaCarolina Dinner, to begin at 6 p.m. with a 5 p.m. social hour. The event costs $90 per person, plus a $25 optional wine pairing.

Tea service events may be hosted for specific holidays. The Valentine’s Tea will be hosted at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Feb. 17.

Event announcements and updates will be posted on Ivory Road’s website and social media accounts. Purchase tickets at ivory-road.square.site.

Shifting to chef-driven events

Terrell said she didn’t hesitate at the invitation to collaborate for the Ivory Road relaunch.

“She mentioned this kind of shift in her thinking and imagination of this place, and I was a big fan and fond of everything she does, the way she carries herself and with her staff,” Terrell said. “I think she’s an example of what our culinary industry should be.”

Wasilewski said she’s excited to cook with new people and prepare different meals for guests beyond the set menu of a traditional restaurant.

Terrell said that many chefs have or are shifting away from owning and operating traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants, opting for the freedom of pop-ups and special catering events. Pop-ups can require a lot of work with little return, she said. However, Ivory Road’s concept offers a reasonable income and allows the chef to better connect with the community.

Terrell said diners are looking for experiences that are a little deeper and more enriched, too.

“To hear there’s a chef that has a brick-and-mortar and has a place for you to collaborate, that gives us not only an opportunity to collaborate – because that’s the fun part – but a place to showcase our food and get our word out there,” Terrell said. “This is an elevated pop-up and I think that’s the attractiveness of it because a lot of us are not enjoying the pop-up anymore.”

Ivory Road

Where: 1854 Brevard Road, Arden.

Info: For more, visit ivoryroadavl.com and facebook.com/ivoryroadavl/. Purchase dining event tickets at ivory-road.square.site.

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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 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: Ivory Road revived with culinary events, wine club, bakery