West Asheville restaurants undergo chef shakeup after recently opening

Tiana Kennell, Asheville Citizen Times
·1 min read
Inside Regina’s June 1, 2023.
Inside Regina’s June 1, 2023.

ASHEVILLE - In just more than a month in business, a West Asheville restaurant is in turmoil.

In June, Regina’s opened at 1400 Patton Ave. about a month after its sister restaurant Little Louie’s opened down the street at 1478 Patton Ave.

The locally owned eateries known for their comfort foods and hoagies were backed by business partners Elliott Moss, Michael Piroli, Lisa Wagner and Taylor Godleski.

Moss, a two-time James Beard Foundation Award nominee, has been the face of the businesses serving as the executive chef who cultivated the menus and concepts.

On July 7, Moss confirmed that he is still a business partner, however, he no longer is acting as the chef.

Chef Elliott Moss, owner of Regina’s.
Chef Elliott Moss, owner of Regina’s.

Moss said he is unable to share details and is awaiting legal counsel.

“I’m still a partner in the businesses. I’m just not there day-to-day as the chef as we work things out. We had some disagreements on things,” Moss said.

Little Louie’s and Regina’s came about after Moss sold his shares and departed Buxton Hall BBQ, where he was the chef and co-owner.

Moss assisted with flipping the former Malvern bar into Little Louie’s, a concept inspired by Moss’s love for hoagies and perogies and other Philadelphia and Pittsburgh classics.

Regina’s Rachel sandwich with fries.
Regina’s Rachel sandwich with fries.

Regina’s opened in the former Happy Hill Restaurant and was introduced with a revolving menu of some of Moss’s favorite dishes, like meatloaf, and highlighted fresh ingredients sourced from the Appalachians.

Both restaurants remain open.

For more about Regina’s, visit reginaswestside.com and follow on Instagram @reginaswestside.

For more about Little Louie’s, visit eatlittlelouie.com and follow on Instagram @littlelouiesavl.

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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 Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Chef Elliott Moss addresses questions about his role at restaurants