South Slope kitchen coming after customer demand, nixing traditional restaurant style

An Asheville brewery is giving the people what they want beyond pints of beer.

Green Man Brewery is preparing to introduce food service for patrons of its two South Slope taprooms.

“The main question that we get asked is, ‘Do you have any food here?’ And we’re like, ‘No, we don’t. It’s only beer,’” Eric McDonald, taproom operations manager, said. “Then they’ll ask, ‘Where do we go?’ And we end up advertising for other places and restaurants in town and sending people away. It just makes sense: When you get asked a hundred times a day, maybe you should act on it.”

The Green Man Mansion taproom is at 27 Buxton Ave., and Dirty Jack’s taproom is next door at 23 Buxton Ave. on the South Slope.

Ashville: West Asheville restaurant opens, outdoor dining improves downtown, tasting events set

On the other side of Dirty Jack’s sits the former French Broad Chocolate at 21 Buxton Ave., which is being converted into a commercial kitchen for the brewery.

“The original idea was to remodel it and turn it into another taproom-bar-restaurant,” McDonald said. “But we just don’t think the restaurant in the traditional sense is a smart mood to try to pull off right now. So, we’re basically building a kitchen in here, but people aren’t going to come in here. You’ll be able to order food at any of our bars next door, and then there will be a delivery service out of here that brings it to you.”

Service will be dedicated to customers at the taproom. QR code menus will be posted at the tables and bars for guests to order and pay online via smartphone. Then, meals will be brought to the customer at the taproom.

The menu will offer traditional American dishes such as burgers, fish, fries and other bar-style meals and snacks. Larry Dunn, who comes with more than 20 years of restaurant experience, has signed on as a kitchen consultant, McDonald said.

“It’s in good hands,” he said.

The renovation is expected to be completed in about a month.

The kitchen will open with limited hours and extend gradually as operations are smoothed out.

“There’s talk of some other places that don’t have a food option participating, as well, so that will be exciting,” McDonald said.

Buxton block business

In April, Green Man Brewery celebrated its 25th anniversary, and owners Dennis and Wendy Thies are increasing the business’s presence in the brewery district.

Green Man is gradually taking over the block, having acquired several commercial spaces along Buxton Avenue.

In addition to the kitchen, other properties on the block were attained for storage and administrative offices. The main brewhouse sits between the Green Man Mansion and Dirty Jack’s.

What guests have access to are Green Man’s two taprooms, which offer unique guest experiences and double as operational facilities.

Some of the beer is brewed next door at Dirty Jack’s, which takes on more of a laidback dive bar feel and attracts soccer viewers.

“We do small-batch specialty batches out of here. It’s like a 10-barrel system, so it can be anywhere from 15 to 20 kegs at any given batch,” McDonald said.

The industrial-style bar offers an enclosed patio off Buxton Avenue, too.

Green Man Mansion is so named because of its posh aesthetics and towering three floors that include first- and third-level bars and seating areas.

The third floor is often used for taproom events, such as trivia and game nights, and private events, said event and taproom manager Marci Ingram. A covered upper deck is a popular seating area as it provides a view of the South Slope and the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s also an ideal place to see the Friday night fireworks after an Asheville Tourists baseball game, she said.

The packaging hall is visible from the third-floor taproom’s balcony, too, where guests can see the beers canned before they are taken to the distribution center in East Asheville.

And there’s ample outdoor seating lining the taprooms on Buxton Avenue and wrapping around to South Lexington Avenue.

The most popular beer at the taprooms is Trickster, a tropical IPA, Ingram said. And Dirty Jack’s lager is “king” – it’s “a simple four-ingredient beer with a process done really well.”

For more about Green Man Brewery’s Mansion and Dirty Jack’s taprooms and beer collections, visit greenmanbrewery.com.

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: Ashville Brewery to debut dining menu at South Slope taprooms