Asheville food, beverage events getting a big shake-up in 2023
ASHEVILLE - How one sips, samples and parties in Asheville is likely to change as a series of restructuring events is underway within three local food and beverage organizations.
Asheville Brewers Alliance, Chow Chow Culinary Festival and the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association have announced new executive directors, among other operational shifts, aimed to strengthen the groups and create an overall positive change in the community and hospitality industry. The new leadership and initiative ultimately will change guests’ experiences at some of the city’s popular events and are predicted to impact the local economy.
“They’re exciting for the community because they kind of straddle that line of not just amenities for residents and visitors, but they also really drive job creation in the manufacturing sector,” said Clark Duncan, senior vice president for economic development for the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce.
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New leadership, new visions
Asheville Brewers Alliance promotes and supports local craft beverage businesses and is the presenter of Asheville Beer Week, in which breweries host special events throughout the city to showcase the thriving industry’s overflow of offerings. However, new ABA Executive Director Karis Roberts is strategizing how the nonprofit can reinvent the annual series that began more than a decade ago and make other improvements like workplace diversity in the brewing industry.
“I feel like we have a lot of creativity and diverse people ready to create tasty beverages, and I’m excited to see what 2023 holds,” Roberts said.
Chow Chow, a culinary event series still in its early years, has changed its format each year since its debut in 2019.
New Chow Chow Executive Director Melissa Scheiderer has come aboard to evolve the annual series once again while upholding the nonprofit’s mission “to gather community to celebrate and enrich the unique foodways of the Southern Appalachian region.”
“It started just a year before the pandemic, so everyone was pivoting and doing as much as they could to maintain their operations,” Scheiderer said. “If you’ve gone to an event in previous years, you may have had a different experience than the experience you’ll have next year. But I think what sets Chow Chow apart has a lot to do with place and being in this Southern Appalachian region, particularly in Asheville, there’s a different culture around food and relationship and collaboration and sharing and celebration.”
The 501(c)3 nonprofit also has a new board chair and several new board members who represent the local food and beverage industry.
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Meanwhile, the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association prepares for its 20-year anniversary celebration and annual fundraising event, Taste of Asheville, where guests are invited to sample creations from local restaurants.
Also, in March, AIR will welcome new Executive Director Meghan Rogers, who will work with the board and its local, independent restaurant members to receive the resources, support and advocacy necessary to create a stronger workforce, workplace environments and profitable businesses that are rooted in the community.
“Explore Asheville values the creativity and inspiration that elevates our food and beverage scene to one of the best in the nation,” Vic Isley, president & CEO for Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, said in an email.
“It is apparent that visitors appreciate it too, with food and beverage purchases making up more than one-quarter of all visitor dollars spent in 2021. We are proud to shine a spotlight on local creators and makers by sponsoring events such as Asheville Beer Week, A Taste of Asheville, and Chow Chow that celebrate our community’s creative spirit for residents and visitors to enjoy.”
Asheville Beer Week
Last year, the Asheville Brewers Alliance didn’t have an executive director so this year, the board is considering how to restructure the organization and drive its mission with Roberts at the helm.
The ABA, a trade and membership organization, promotes Western North Carolina-produced beers and builds connections between its members for the purpose of exchanging knowledge and providing support.
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Roberts’ role involves membership strengthening and providing education, resources and networking opportunities to ABA members.
“It’s kind of up to me to create how I see this working out and how I want to help my members and how I want ABA to thrive moving forward,” said Roberts, who also works at Wedge Brewing Co.
Event planning is another one of Roberts’ responsibilities, beginning with Asheville Beer Week, an annual event series that spotlights the city’s craft beverage producers and businesses with events hosted throughout the city.
The event series is in the early planning, and the event date and details are to be announced.
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Furthermore, Roberts is seeking solutions to increase diversity in the traditionally white, male-dominated brewing industry.
“I definitely think it’s a huge role for me, and I think there’s a lot of potential for growth in our industry as far as females in positions of power and Black females in positions of power,” Roberts said. “I’m fortunate enough to have a Black boss at The Wedge, where I work, and he’s also one of our board members. It’s the first board I’ve ever been on where I’m not the only person who is Black, and I find that very comforting and I think that the more the Asheville industry gives room to diversity, it gives people like me and people like Lucious (Wilson) a chance in this industry. There are hundreds more of us out there ready and willing to work, and I think it’s just only up from here.”
The craft food and beverage industry helps drive the local economy, said the chamber's Duncan, and the craft brewing industry plays a major part.
“Craft brewing has emerged in the course of the last decade as the second largest manufacturing employer in Asheville,” Duncan said. “We’re dominated, for example, in automotive manufacturing and aerospace manufacturing; craft brewing is actually the second largest sector under the manufacturing umbrella.”
Riverbird Research, a division of the Chamber and Economic Development Coalition for Asheville, conducted the “Asheville Metro Breweries Industry” study to determine the economic contributions in 2019 in Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison counties.
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The data showed that that city had 3,471 jobs related to the brewing industry – 1,770 brewery industry jobs and 1,701 created or supported jobs throughout the local economy.
The brewery industry added 1,134 jobs from 2014-2019 – a 357% increase in jobs making it the largest increase among manufacturing industries in Asheville.
Locally, $33.4 million in tax revenue was generated by Asheville’s brewery industry, which helps fund public services like parks, transportation, public safety and education.
“It continues to be an important economic driver, and not only of hospitality and visitation but also of high-quality manufacturing jobs, and that’s a really unique aspect that it can touch both,” Duncan said.
Chow Chow Culinary Festival
Chow Chow Culinary Festival brings guests together at the table and in direct contact with area chefs, craft beverage producers, regional farmers, artists and culinary makers over dishes, drinks, demonstrations and conversation.
“A reason I’m excited to be a part of Chow Chow is that it’s really fun, and connecting with people around food is a great way to share some ideas around ways that we can participate differently to ensure that we do have strong, local food economies that are inclusive,” Scheiderer said.
Scheiderer sees the potential for the festival to make a bigger impact long after the dining tables are cleared. Chow Chow works to support regional food and beverage businesses and makers, which continue to feel the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic climate.
“Entrepreneurship is one of the most powerful levers that we have for change, so I’m hoping that by working with a lot of local, independent businesses and folks doing really incredible things, we can really strengthen that local economy in our community,” Scheiderer said.
Last summer, Chow Chow hosted 25 events over three weekends in venues outside of downtown, including the WNC Farmers Market and Smoky Park Supper Club.
Chow Chow’s tasting experiences this year will return to its original downtown location in Pack Square, and the event is being designed to fit into one weekend so attendees may have better access to and engage with the food community.
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“We’ll be centrally located in the community, and we will go back to a longer format of one long weekend,” she said. “A really big focus for us this year is more no-cost and low-cost programming and food options.”
The change of venue and consolidation is to keep the event’s momentum, engage with more locals, and present a “more community-centered and equitable culinary festival.”
“It’s our intent to make sure local folk feel welcomed. We’re working on some strategies to ensure that’s the case, and we want to make sure we’re locally focused in our presenters, as well, so deeper connections are made,” she said.
In a report to the TDA, Chow Chow reported that over the 2022 event weekends, 4,561 total participants attended of which 73% were from Asheville/Buncombe County, 80% from the five-county area and 20% were overnight/out-of-town guests who traveled from 29 states.
The 2023 festival is expected to take place in the fall, but dates are to be announced.
“It’s going to be more robust for sure, and I think there will be a lot of energy around it,” Scheiderer said.
Taste of Asheville
On Feb. 9, AIR announced its new executive director, Rogers, former executive director for the Asheville Downtown Association, to lead the organization in its 20th year and beyond.
“I am excited to join the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association,” Rogers said in a news release. “The impact that AIR has on the local restaurant community and the community as a whole is significant. I look forward to continuing their strong program of work in education, collaboration, and advocacy.”
AIR is weeks away from celebrating its 20-year anniversary and reviving its annual Taste of Asheville fundraiser, an event that hasn’t been hosted since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Traditionally an annual fall event, Taste of Asheville will return from 6-9 p.m. March 9, at the Mission Health/A-B Tech Conference Center.
AIR Chair Liz Button expects nearly 700 guests who will be going from booth to booth tasting samples from the 48 participating restaurants and about a dozen beverage vendors. And a live band will perform.
“It’s a special event because you can go to all these food festivals, but what’s different about this is that it’s only the independent restaurants and they get to showcase,” Button said. “It’s a wide range of restaurants that are there from bigger named restaurants to big fine dining restaurants down to little quick service restaurants providing fare. It’s just fun to see everyone there.”
AIR, founded in 2003, provides guidance and resources and addresses issues like tipping protocols, financial empowerment, health benefits and affordable housing.
The group offers outreach services to local nonprofits and schools, too.
“We try to provide what opportunities are out there that meet our values as an organization, too,” Button said.
Also, AIR was integral in advocating for outdoor seating and heating systems in local restaurants so they could remain operational during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taste of Asheville serves as more than just a tasting event. It’s a fundraiser for the organization that advocates and provides support for its more than 130 locally owned, independent restaurants from marketing to educational workshops for the owners, operators and employees.
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“The funds that we do receive through sponsorships and ticket sales will help support all these workshops and all these programs that we want to offer to the owners and the workforce,” Button.
After the hiatus and tumultuous years for the food service industry, Button is optimistic about what 2023 and the future holds.
“I think everybody’s really excited. 2022 was good for businesses in general but we were still going through this wave of people getting sick and people are scared to go out. I think we’re starting to get out from that," Button said. "People are starting to reappear and feeling good about going out and doing things, so I think that’s the greatest thing. We’re going to back on our feet but we’re going to be doing it in a better way.”
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 Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Chow Chow, AVL Beer Week, A Taste of Asheville to evolve in 2023
