Restaurant openings: A key list of new local dining destinations

Tiana Kennell, Asheville Citizen Times
·4 min read

ASHEVILLE - While this year seems to be quickly coming to an end, the list of new restaurants in Asheville keeps getting longer.

Foodies have much to celebrate as, in addition to traditional dining rooms, the city has welcomed cafés, bakeries, food trucks, bars and taprooms with more lined up to debut this fall and winter.

Treasure the regular dining haunts and switch up the routine and visit somewhere new. Here are just some of the restaurants that have made their introduction in 2022.

Scenes from eldr on June 17, 2022.
Scenes from eldr on June 17, 2022.

Pi-Squared

In March, a Detroit-style pizzeria offering classic square pizza with crispy crust corners and saucy tops opened in South Asheville.

Andria Lassiter brought the regional franchise to the city after residing in Michigan and experiencing the pizza style that’s a staple for Motor City diners.

Pi-Squared opens at 2615 Hendersonville Road in Arden serving Detroit-style pizza.
Pi-Squared opens at 2615 Hendersonville Road in Arden serving Detroit-style pizza.

And once seeing the positive response of the first Pi-Squared opened in Hendersonville by founder Karen Rampey in 2016, Lassiter seized the chance to help bring something new to tables in WNC.

“We needed to bring a little bit of Detroit pie love to the area," Lassiter told Citizen Times. "It’s also close proximity to the Hendersonville location. Their location has grown in popularity, so this is a nice sister store to that main flagship.”

Pi-Squared is at 2615 Hendersonville Road in Arden. View the menu and place online orders at pi-squaredarden.com.

Eldr

In June, executive chef and co-owner Eric Burleson, Carson Lucci and Heather and Jim Cassidy completed the renovation of a historic building in Grovewood Village and opened Eldr.

Eldr features New American cuisine met with international flavors and accomplished by using seasonal, locally sourced and foraged ingredients of the Appalachian.

Scenes from eldr on June 17, 2022.
Scenes from eldr on June 17, 2022.

“The Appalachian inspires me more than any other place because growing up here, I know what’s in season, when it’s in season,” Burleson told Citizen Times. “There will be a flair of Italian meets Japanese meets all kinds of other cultures that interest me and what we’re into at the moment, which is what’s beautiful about our food."

Eldr is open for coffee, brunch, lunch, dinner and wine services. View the daily menus and make a reservation at eldravl.com.

Neng Jr’s

In July, Neng Jr’s opened featuring traditional and inspired Filipino dishes prepared by chef Silver Iocovozzi.

“Filipino food and extremely difficult to define, and I think other Filipinos would agree with this,” Iocovozzi told Citizen Times. “It’s been extremely difficult to be something that’s mainstream as people can relate to it because I think everyone has an idea of what Thai food is or Japanese food. But Filipino food is so ambiguous and so regional and so based on the household, by the influence of whoever is cooking.”

Silver Iocovozzi, chef and owner of Neng Jr.'s, June 30, 2022.
Silver Iocovozzi, chef and owner of Neng Jr.'s, June 30, 2022.

The West Asheville restaurant features an open kitchen and cozy 17-seat dining room that promotes an intimate dining experience between chef and guests.

Neng Jr’s is open from 5:30 p.m.-midnight on Fridays and Saturdays at 701 Haywood Road. Reservations are encouraged up until 9:30 p.m. For details, visit nengjrs.com and follow on Instagram @nengjrs.

Gemelli

In September, Anthony Cerrato, founder and chef of Strada Italiano and Social Lounge, opened his new restaurant, Gemelli.

The upscale yet casual eatery offers diverse dining experiences from morning to night. Gemelli offers Italian pastries, brunch, lunch and dinner menus, and a full-bodied beverage program.

Gemelli Fresca is a vegetarian dish with Gemelli pasta, sundried tomato, capers, roasted garlic, rosemary and preserved lemon. It can be ordered gluten-free and vegan. Added options are chicken, beef, shrimp, veggie and spiedini (marinated and grilled skewers).
Gemelli Fresca is a vegetarian dish with Gemelli pasta, sundried tomato, capers, roasted garlic, rosemary and preserved lemon. It can be ordered gluten-free and vegan. Added options are chicken, beef, shrimp, veggie and spiedini (marinated and grilled skewers).

Begin the day with an Italian coffee and pastry, savor a Sicilian-style, thick-crust pizza and craft beer in the afternoon, and end the evening with a hearty plate of pasta and a glass of vino.

Gemelli is at 70 Westgate Pkwy. in Westgate Shopping Center, next to EarthFare. For details, visit www.Gemelli.restaurant.

Mëhfil and Dilbar

In the spring, Mëhfil opened downtown serving traditional Indian cuisine and by late summer its Indian street food counterpart opened next door.

The restaurants offer different dining experiences as Mëhfil features a lunch buffet and plated dinner entrées. Dilbar is the more casual of the two, offering quick, small bites that owner Al Singh recalls as being popular regional dishes sold by street vendors in India.

Dilbar is now open next to Mehfil in downtown Asheville.
Dilbar is now open next to Mehfil in downtown Asheville.

“We’re trying to give you an impression of what an Indian street would be,” Singh told Citizen Times. "When you go out in the evening in India you have these street vendors lined up and on the side of the road and you have Bollywood songs playing. We’re trying to recreate that atmosphere.”

Mëhfil is at 5 Biltmore Avenue, Suite B. Dilbar is in Suite A. For details, visit mehfilasheville.com and dilbarasheville.com.

More new restaurant highlights

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville's new restaurants you may have missed in 2022