Food History of Asheville

Key eras

Pre-1830s, Cherokee mountain larders

The land that became Buncombe County had been Cherokee territory for centuries. Cherokee cookery centered on the three sisters (corn, beans, squash), ramps foraged in spring, mountain trout, deer and bear, sourwood honey, and chestnut breads. Many of these ingredients still define Asheville's modern Appalachian kitchen.

1830s to 1900, Scots-Irish settlement and the biscuit tradition

Following Cherokee removal in the 1830s, Scots-Irish settlers brought biscuits, sausage gravy, country ham, sorghum syrup and apple butter from the Carolinas and Tennessee. Asheville became the Western North Carolina trade hub by 1850; the cathead biscuit and the sorghum drizzle persist as the regional breakfast canon.

1895, the Biltmore Estate opens

George Washington Vanderbilt II opened the Biltmore Estate in 1895 as America's largest private home. The estate's working dairy, market gardens and on-property food production set the regional benchmark for farm-to-table dining; Biltmore Winery (founded 1985) and Cedric's Tavern continue that legacy from the Antler Hill Village campus.

1992 onwards, the Carolina BBQ trade route through Asheville

Asheville sat at the eastern edge of the whole-hog Eastern Carolina BBQ tradition and the western edge of the Lexington-style. The city's mid-1990s revival of Carolina barbecue culture, anchored by 12 Bones in 2005 and Buxton Hall in 2015, reframed Asheville as a Southern BBQ destination, even as both later closed their River Arts roots.

1994, Highland Brewing opens

Oscar Wong founded Highland Brewing in April 1994 in the basement of Barley's Taproom at 42 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville's first legal craft brewery since Prohibition. Highland's Gaelic Ale set the template for the regional brewery boom; by 2026 the city's brewery count exceeds 30 with the highest per-capita craft beer production in the United States.

2009 to 2015, the food-and-wine renaissance

Katie Button opened Cúrate on Biltmore Avenue in 2011 and won the 2022 James Beard Outstanding Hospitality award. Meherwan Irani opened Chai Pani in 2009 (2022 Outstanding Restaurant). The five-year stretch from 2009 to 2015 brought Cúrate, Chai Pani, Buxton Hall, The Bull and Beggar and Wicked Weed, defining Asheville's modern food map.

2024 to 2025, Tropical Storm Helene and the Michelin Guide

Tropical Storm Helene devastated the River Arts District in September 2024, with Vivian, Pleb Urban Winery, 12 Bones RAD and Smoky Park Supper Club permanently closed; Wedge, Hi-Wire RAD and The Bull and Beggar reopened through 2025. The 2025 Michelin Guide American South then recognised 15 Asheville restaurants, including a Green Star for Luminosa and Bib Gourmands for Luminosa, Little Chango and Mother.

Immigrant influences

• Cherokee (Eastern Band): The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians remains active 50 miles west of Asheville. Cherokee ingredients (three sisters, ramps, trout, sourwood honey, chestnut breads) define the Appalachian larder.
• Scots-Irish: Scots-Irish settlement in the 1830s-1900s brought biscuits, sausage gravy, country ham, sorghum and apple butter. The Western North Carolina breakfast canon at Biscuit Head and Sunny Point runs on those traditions.
• Mexican and Central American: Modern Mexican and Central American immigration from the 1990s onwards brought taquerias and panaderías, anchored downtown by Hugo Ramirez's Limones on Eagle Street and Little Chango's Pan-Latin format.
• South Asian: Meherwan Irani's Chai Pani group put Asheville on the national Indian-food map with the 2022 James Beard Outstanding Restaurant award. Chai Pani, Botiwalla and Buxton Chicken Palace are the anchors.
• Black Appalachian: Ashleigh Shanti's Good Hot Fish opened in January 2024 upstairs at Burial Beer's South Slope campus as a Black Appalachian fish fry, building on Benne on Eagle and Shanti's 2025 James Beard cookbook Our South.

Signature innovations

• Highland Brewing's 1994 opening as the city's first craft brewery, anchor of the eventual 30+ brewery scene
• The Anson Mills heritage-grain revival adopted by Asheville chefs through Carolina Gold rice and stone-ground cornmeal
• The Buxton Hall whole-hog Eastern Carolina BBQ tradition, brought west of the Lexington dividing line
• Luminosa's 2025 Michelin Green Star, one of only three in the inaugural American South guide
• The S and W Market downtown food hall (2021), Asheville's first dedicated culinary food hall