Asheville Food Bites: Family-owned brewery closes, culinary retreat, weekend food fests

ASHEVILLE - A family-owned brewery permanently closes; a local restaurant reopens after a kitchen fire; a culinary arts school hosts a seven-day celebration and retreat; and two food and beverage tasting events to put on the weekend calendar.

Now closed: Blue Ghost Brewing Co.

In January, co-owners Zachary and Nicole Horn announced the impending closure of Blue Ghost Brewing Company at 125 Underwood Road in Fletcher.

On July 7, the husband-and-wife team hosted one last hurrah before shuttering the craft beer brewery and taproom.

In March 2016, Zachary Horn and Erik Weber founded the business with Weber departing in 2019.

Zachary Horn said the family-owned and operated brewery lived up to what they envisioned ― a place for community.

“We’ve provided a space for so many people and created so many memories from anniversaries to proposals that have happened here to weddings and retirement. … birthday. … and going away parties. You name it, it’s happened here.”

In that time, customers came to love flagship beers like the Blue Ghost IPA, Laga Light American Golden Ale, Mango IPA and Zachary Horn’s favorite, the Mountain to Sea Double IPA.

Zachary Horn said the community became like family, making closing difficult. After an eight-year run, he and his wife ultimately chose to close the brewery to focus on their two children, ages nine and 13.

“This business, as much fun as it is at times, it’s very demanding on nights and weekends, holidays and summers and that’s all the same time our children are not in school,” Zachary Horn said. “It’s often choosing between family activities versus the brewery.”

He and his wife, who have degrees in biology, plan to become substitute teachers.

Zachary Horn, who used to work at Oskar Blues Brewery, said eventually he’ll get back into homebrewing. He said he was inspired to learn the craft after discovering that his great-great-great grandfather immigrated from Germany during the Civil War Era. He listed his occupation as “brewer” on a Census form.

The Horns still own their Blue Ghost brand and recipes, and he said a revival of Blue Ghost Brewing Co. isn’t out of the question once they become empty nesters.

Zachary Horn said the community’s farewell wishes are appreciated.

“We appreciate that they enjoyed it as we envisioned it. We’re grateful for everyone who came through near and far over the years,” he said.

Zachary Horn said the brewing facility was sold to become a crane and hoist company service center.

He said Blue Ghost employed 18 mostly part-time workers, many who chose to stay with the brewery through closing day. He said the staff was offered thank-you packages, job search assistance and referrals.

Read the Horns’ closing announcement at blueghostbrewing.com.

Now reopened: Stone Ridge Tavern

On June 13, Stone Ridge Tavern’s reopening was announced after a kitchen fire was reported at the restaurant at 1003 Brevard Road on May 29.

For lunch and dinner service hours updates, follow the business on Facebook. View the menus at thestoneridgetavern.com.

Culinary school celebrations

The Quintessential Table is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Seasonal School of Culinary Arts, a program that offers "culinary experiences designed to awaken and broaden the palate" to new and experienced home chefs and professionals, with ticketed events from July 14-20.

Many activities will be at Highland Lake Cove in Flat Rock with hands-on and dining segments at Treska’s Café.

The “Cooking with Consciousness” week-long immersion program will begin with a Bastille Day celebration and continue with multi-course luncheons, tastings, music, contra dancing and self-guided explorations of the grounds, Carl Sandburg Home and downtown Flat Rock and Hendersonville.

Jael Skeffington, founder of French Broad Chocolate, will host a chocolate tasting. Beer, cider and whiskey tastings are on the schedule, too.

Hands-on sessions will feature chefs Mark Rosenstein, Laurie Bakke and Susi Gott Séguret ― a French American chef, author and director of Quintessential Table/Seasonal School of Culinary Arts.

The “Cooking with Consciousness” themed program is designed to teach guests where and how their food is grown, harvested and transported, and how posture, thoughts, movements and intention can create Zen in the kitchen and when dining.

An afternoon tasting session costs $100. A morning and luncheon session costs $200. A full-day admission costs $300. Access to the full week of activities costs $1,500.

Guests are welcome to book a stay on-site at Highland Lake to capture the full serenity of the week.

View the full schedule and register at quintessentialtable.com. For more, contact Susi Gott Séguret at sgseguret@gmail.com or (828) 301-2792.

Foodie events in July

On July 14, take a self-guided garden tour and taste food and beverage samples from local chefs, restaurants and beverage producers at the Urban Garden Tour & Tasting with Bountiful Cities from 1-6 p.m. at various locations. The family-friendly garden tours are free. Tickets for the tasting portions are $40 in advance. An after-party will begin at 6 p.m. at The Odd, a West Asheville bar at 1045 Haywood Road. For more, visit bountifulcities.org.

Also, on July 14, Heritage Fire Tour: Asheville, a national touring food festival celebrating live fire cooking, will be at Horse Shoe Farm, 155 Horse Shoe Farm Drive in Hendersonville. Guests may sample food and beverages from regional and national chefs, restaurants and beverage partners. The 21 and up event costs $125 for general admission (4:15 p.m. entry) and $175 for VIP (3:30 p.m entry). For more, visit heritagefiretour.com/tour-dates/asheville-nc.

Stories you may have missed:

• Daytripper: Western North Carolina restaurants worth the drive

• What Asheville restaurants do diners miss most? A list of mid-year 2024 closures

• New Broadway musical-inspired Asheville cafe opens, hits high notes with Asheville diners

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: Blue Ghost Brewing closes, weekend tasting festivals, more food news