Tony Kiss, the Beer Guy and longtime Citizen Times reporter, editor, dies at age 68

ASHEVILLE - Longtime Asheville Citizen Times reporter and editor — and local trailblazer of craft beer writing — has died.

Tony Kiss died just after midnight Aug. 17 in Mission Hospital after a brief hospitalization, according to his sister, Mary Kiss. He was 68. Kiss was born March 14, 1955, in Tennessee as Anthony Josef Kiss.

Mary Kiss said Tony died of complications due to diabetes.

A celebration of life is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sept. 14 at Rabbit Rabbit in Asheville.

Many know Kiss as "The Beer Guy,” a moniker earned from his personal passion for beer that led him to craft a career in journalism steeped in beer before it was trendy or widely understood or respected, according to Highland Brewing founder Oscar Wong.

Wong, the pioneer of Asheville’s craft beer scene, met Kiss the same year of founding the city’s first brewery in 1994.

The brewery hadn’t been established yet when Wong spotted Kiss at Asheville Wine Market. Recognizing Kiss as ACT's entertainment journalist, Wong introduced himself. They remained close friends over the years.

Wong said Highland Brewing and the Asheville brewing community, at large, owe Kiss for his promotion of the beer industry.

“We got to be quite good friends, and he’s been very, very helpful from the early days when nobody knew what craft brewing was or craft beer was,” Wong said. “He was an aficionado from the very beginning. He’s been a strong supporter of the whole industry, and he’s been very instrumental in Asheville becoming Beer City, USA.”

Kiss’ career spanned decades and beyond the brewery industry.

Kiss was born in Kingsport, Tennessee, to parents Alvin and Mary Kiss, both now deceased. Tony was the oldest of three children, including younger brother, Stephen, who lives in Tennessee. Kiss graduated from East Tennessee State University with a journalism degree in 1977.

His journalism career launched at Kingsport Times-News in Tennessee where he worked from 1976-79, writing the "Teen Scene," while still in high school, according to his sister. He then worked at the Anderson Independent Mail in South Carolina from 1979-84.

On May 10, 1984, Kiss began working at ACT until he departed in October 2016.

His first ACT article in the archives was published on May 17, 1984, and was about a new television station launching in Asheville. Later, he became an entertainment and leisure activities reporter and then the entertainment editor.

The Asheville Citizen Times 'Beer Guy' is born

In February 2002, Kiss published the first installation of his column “The Beer Guy” in ACT’s Living section. It ran for 14 years.

He wrote about game-changing beer businesses, like Highland, Asheville Pizza and Brewing Co., French Broad River Brewery and Jack of the Wood.

“At any given time, at least a dozen local brews are flowing from taps all over town,” Kiss wrote. “Many much bigger cities don’t have that kind of brewing action. So much is happening here that the local beer scene deserves some serious coverage. That’s where this column comes in.”

Two beers were named after him at the now-closed Blue Rooster brew-pub on Biltmore Avenue. In a column published on May 28, 2003, Kiss wrote: “It was grand fun to belly up to the bar and ask for one of ‘my own.’”

After leaving ACT, Kiss continued to spread the beer gospel at Mountain Xpress.

Years ago, Kiss co-hosted an entertainment segment with David Hurand about things happening around town on what is now Blue Ridge Public Radio called the “Tony Kiss Weekend Update.”

Many may remember Kiss for always having a pint of beer in hand and a ballcap on his head. His favorite pastimes extended to attending Asheville Tourist baseball games and listening to live music.

Mike Rangel, the founder of Asheville Pizza and Brewing Co., Rabbit Rabbit and Asheville T-Shirt Company, met Kiss during an interview about 20 years ago. The pair bonded over a shared passion for obscure, off-beat '80s bands and music, Rangel said.

Rangel and his wife, Allison, often traveled with Kiss to '80s music concerts within a 200-mile radius of Asheville, including Duran Duran, ABC, Adam Ant, Erasure, The Psychedelic Furs and The Human League.

“Tony was a pure storyteller, truly happy when he was sharing his love of the theater, movies, music and craft-beer by writing in his columns or just chatting on the front porch. He genuinely loved what he did and the people he got to meet, not just the big names, but everyone,” Rangel said in a text message. “A great friend to my wife Allison and I, we were very fortunate to go see many concerts and plays with him. Gonna be sad not to hear his voice saying ‘Saints Preserve Us’ or any of his Kiss-isms.”

Wong fondly remembers his and Kiss' many road trips across the United States as Wong drove a delivery truck in the early days to distribute his beer with Kiss riding shotgun, to places like Atlanta, Greenville, South Carolina, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The duo even took a trip to Belgium in 2012 where they stayed out exploring until 1 a.m. Wong recalled that the two "weren't very good hotel guests" as they often came back late at night unable to remember their room codes.

The friends loved Belgium beer but when asked about Kiss’s favorite brew, Wong said, “The one he has in his hand.”

‘Child, if I had a nickel for every person who said I gave them their first break.’

LeeAnn Donnelly, senior public relations manager for Biltmore, worked with Kiss at ACT from 1992-94. Donnelly was an obituary clerk, and during a conversation with Kiss, she told him she’d like to contribute to the entertainment section.

He assigned her to write a movie review on “Death Becomes Her.”

“That was my first movie review, and it was very exciting,” Donnelly said. “It was my first byline ever. He helped me put it together. And many years later, I said, ‘You gave me my first break,’ and he said, ‘Child, if I had a nickel for every person who said I gave them their first break.’”

Kiss jested, but Donnelly said it was true that his generosity led him to give many reporters their first shot and, likewise, supported many local businesses.

“He was an institution in this town because of all the coverage that he did of the emerging beer scene and all the other entertainment stories he did, it really helped a lot of businesses and helped a lot of people involved in those productions,” Donnelly said.

Kiss was modest when it came to being recognized in public, often for his voice, which listeners came to know from the radio show, she said.

“Tony had such a distinctive speaking voice, and he’d tell me, ‘I just got stopped in the grocery store and someone asked me if I was Tony Kiss and I asked, ‘How on earth did you know?’ And they said, ‘You can’t mistake your voice.’” Donnelly said. “He would say, ‘If I start believing my own publicity, I’m going to get in trouble,’ because he was so humble about it. He couldn’t believe people knew who he was.”

Donnelly described Kiss as funny, clever, kind, sweet, giving and a “cut-up.”

And he always had a great story about the celebrities he interviewed.

Polly McDaniel, a retired communication specialist for the city of Asheville, served in many roles with ACT including as a features editor when she worked with Kiss.

“Tony Kiss interviewed all of the great stars who came to perform in the Asheville area down through the years, and he interviewed many of them twice, people such as Tony Bennett and Mickey Rooney,” McDaniel said in an email. “Our arts organizations can thank him for the coverage he gave to this community. He was particularly fond of the theater community and made sure there were reviews as well as advance coverage for theater.”

Former entertainment columnist Carol Mallet Rifkin was one of the many loved ones at Kiss’ side in his final hours.

Rifkin said Kiss influenced the Asheville’s entertainment scene as a great supporter of the arts and a key player in Asheville music. Also, he was integral to the success of LEAF, a nonprofit founded in 1995 and the producer of the LEAF Global Arts Festival.

“When Jennifer Pickering, Kelly Hansen and I started LEAF, he was critical to LEAF. I don’t think we could have done it without his support,” Rifkin said. “He wrote about us, he put us on the front page of the paper, he believed in what we were doing.”

Rifkin contributed columns that were then edited by Kiss for 20 years. She described him as clever, funny, fair, honest a good friend to everyone and a great judge of character.

“He really taught me about writing and was hilarious in the way he would focus us on what we were supposed to do,” Rifkin said. “I remember I used an exclamation point in a story, and he just read me the riot act. He said, ‘Don’t you use an exclamation point ever again unless a war breaks out or the president dies.’”

Former Citizen Times reporter John Boyle worked alongside Kiss at ACT from 1995-2016. Boyle said Kiss was a kind-hearted soul, a good guy, and one of the most colorful people he’d met in Asheville, and a larger-than-life personality in the newsroom. Kiss’s desk was cluttered with movies, beer and glasses that he’d urge colleagues to take off his hands.

“He had a ton of friends and was a good friend to people,” Boyle said. “He knew his beat. He knew entertainment with an encyclopedic knowledge and the beer industry, particularly the craft beer industry.”

Kiss worked up the journalism ranks from a cops reporter to entertainment, putting in the time and effort to become a good journalist, Boyle said.

Boyle said Kiss was instrumental in changing North Carolina alcohol laws through his coverage of the topic.

“He’s part of the history of the craft beer movement around here,” Boyle said. “It’s a sad day for Asheville and all of Tony’s friends.”

Citizen Times Executive Editor Karen Chávez worked alongside Kiss from 2000-2016.

"Tony was a huge personality with a huge, kind, generous heart. We both worked in the features department when I started and sat next to each other for many years. He called me "Ka'n,' and 'Child,' laying on the thickest country accent to counteract my Bronx accent. He loved to make people laugh," Chávez said.

"I sat with Tony last night at the hospital among his many other friends and told him how special he was to so many people, though I'm not sure if he could hear us. He didn't have children and he didn't have family close by but he had a deep network of friends who loved and cherished him. He will be loved and missed, always."

Todd Runkle, a content coach at the Citizen Times, also worked with Kiss starting in 2000.

"Tony had a larger than life persona," Runkle said. "He loved his job and always had so much fun. He tossed pumpkins off the roof of the Citizen Times building when the Smashing Pumpkins had their residency at the Orange Peel, and what a blast that was. He loved doing the Beer Guy videos we produced and had fun doing videos at the Mountain State Fair and the Holiday Parade. Tony was a great storyteller and had encyclopedic knowledge of so many things. He loved the circus, the Braves and the Tourists, '80s new wave music and old time radio. We've lost a great friend and a great man."

McDaniel said friends of Kiss will be planning a celebration of life at a later date.

Citizen Times Reporter Sarah Honosky contributed to this report.

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: Tony Kiss the Beer Guy, longtime Citizen Times editor, reporter, dies