Downtown Asheville Blog

For yoga practitioners, visiting local studios is one of the most rewarding parts of travel. Asheville offers many options, with four companies clustered near each other in the Downtown area, and a total of eight throughout the city.

It’s certainly a yogi’s kind of place, with many a “Namaste” bumper sticker on the local vehicles. One local teacher, Stephanie Keach of Asheville Yoga Center, frequently teaches on the national conference circuit. Many others are well respected in their own right.

Here’s a Google map of all the local studios and some related business. These are the ones located in the center of town:

Asheville Yoga Center - 239 S. Liberty

Lighten Up Yoga - 60 Biltmore Avenue

Namaste - 57 Broadway

One Center Yoga - 120 Coxe Avenue, Suite 3A

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff, an Asheville real estate agent who wants to perfect his headstands.

Have you ever been to a farmers’ market and wondered what to cook with some of fresh produce you may be used to? If so, then the “Shop with a Chef” in Downtown Asheville is just for you.

The Asheville City Market, one of the premiere venues in town for local food, holds this event twice per month, bringing in different chefs each time. This Saturday, at 9 a.m. and 10:30, The Marketplace’s Mark Rosenstein with gather with visitors, peruse the booths, and pick a variety of ingredients. Then, he’ll put on a cooking demonstration with the very food he just bought. Best of all, there will be a tasting!

The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project hosts the program. The Marketplace, a downtown restaurant, offers gourmet dishes prepared from local, organic and in-season meat and produce. Much in the same school as Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse in Berkeley, the distinguished fixture has been written about in the New York Times, Southern Living, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and the Wine Spectator.

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff, an Asheville real estate agent and local food enthusiast.

Quite often, our vibrant little city scores big with national theatre companies and internationally acclaimed troupes. The heart and soul of our local theatre scene, however, is made up of independent playwrights, directors and truopes. The Immediate Theatre epitomizes this community.

Their latest offerings, reviewed recently in the Asheville Citizen-Times, looks promising. Perhaps most interestingly, the company is putting on two shows per evening. Guests can choose one or both.

The Immediate Theatre is more than just a local Off-Off-Broadway gig. As part of a national network, the project aims to establish independent shows in smaller cities such as Asheville so they can be shipped off to larger epicenters such New York City.

With so many transplants in Asheville from these cultural capitols, the program has been a success, and just proves how metropolitan and culturally sophisticated our little mountain city really is.

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff, an arts supporter and Asheville real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Kasey & Associates.

I’ve found a few new eateries and watering holes around Downtown Asheville that are worth mentioning. Here’s a quick summary:

S&W Steak and Wine - The old S&W building was finally bought, and the flagship of this Art Deco treasure is the restaurant Steak and Wine (56 Patton Ave.). It’s a high-end steakhouse with duck and other gourmet specialties. Expect a $100+ tab with wine - it’s worth it. The hidden bar upstairs is also a refuge for upscale clientele looking for a respite from some of Asheville’s rowdier beer bars.

Thirsty Monk’s The Pinthouse - Speaking of beer bars, one of the city’s finest has expanded. The Thirsty Monk, which specializes exclusively in Belgian-style ales, has opened an American microbrewery room upstairs called The Pinthouse (Patton Ave. and Coxe). It’s where the old headshop use to be.

Java Reef - If coffee’s more your style, there’s no shortage of coffee houses in our town. A particularly unique one opened just west of downtown, on the other side of the river in Regent Park. Java Reef (5 Regent Park Boulevard, Suite 105) has a 575-gallon saltwater reef aquarium.

Nine Mile - Nearby Montford also has a new pasta restaurant. Nine Mile (233 Montford Ave.) is modeled after Rasta Pasta in Boulder, in which simple pasta dishes are served with a liberal heaping of vegetables and a variety of sauces.

This weekend promises be a journey back in time, of sorts, in Downtown Asheville. The 62nd Asheville Antiques Fair and the 81st Mountain Dance and Folk Festival will both bring timeless traditions into the present day.

The Asheville Antiques Fair, at the Civic Center, will be a great place to go shopping. Dozens of exhibitors will be featuring some of their most-prized finds. Auction appraisers will also be on-hand to help people figure out what their heirlooms might be worth.

If clogging and dulcimers are more your style, head over to Diana Wortham Theatre for the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival. This is authentic, old-timey stuff, but you’ll be surprised how many people (young and old) are keeping it alive.

Both events take place Friday through Saturday.

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff, an Asheville real estate broker.

We recognize the Bele Chere scene in Downtown Asheville isn’t for everyone. So, in honor of those folks who might be surprised they’re in town on the same weekend as this illustrious festival, here’s a guide on what else to do…

Visit the Biltmore Estate - See Willow Winds’ excellent guide.

Drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway - If you’re lucky, everyone else will be Downtown, and you’ll have the road all to yourself.

Stroll the North Carolina Arboretum - Summer wildflowers are blooming!

Go swimming - The beach at Lake Lure is just a short drive from Willow Winds.

Shop ’til You Drop - The Asheville Mall has name-brand stores such as Hollister, Banana Republic and Victoria’s Secret.

Posted by Mark Vanderhoff, a licensed broker with Coldwell Banker Kasey & Associates.