Asheville – Great news for Asheville foodies who have felt the pain of having their favorite restaurants closed down. Two of Asheville’s more popular restaurants are reopening, much to the delight of many locals. After ten months of extensive work following the devastation caused by floodwaters, both Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen on Bleachery Blvd and The Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Village are ready to serve again.
Both restaurants share a similar business culture, treating their employees like family, and both managed to keep many of their staff working at sister restaurants.
Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen
Opening day was July 14th, and the restaurant was packed. The interior has changed slightly but still retains its charm; the smiling faces of some waitstaff were recognizable, and the food remains excellent.
Originally anticipating an opening date in September or October, the home office and construction team fast-tracked the Asheville restaurant as a top priority, as part of the Garden Brand restaurants (Cheddar’s, Olive Garden, and LongHorn).
Managing Partner Anna Carter shared that the company was very hands-on throughout the entire process. “Our company was able to assist my team members with emergency funds, paychecks; they sent difficult-to-get supplies for the team members and their families—items like water bottles and nonperishable food items. We were able to get them into the sister brand restaurants so those team members would get paid. They were taken care of.” Carter continued, “The most exciting thing about being able to reopen now is getting my team members back in here. It’s like having your family back—to be part of their lives again, and also inviting new team members to experience the culture that we’ve created in this building, and having them be part of our new family, taking care of our guests.”
Of the roughly 53 original team members, 41 are back, and they are hiring more cooks and servers.
The Corner Kitchen
The Corner Kitchen has faced its fair share of challenges, from previous floods to COVID shutdowns and now Hurricane Helene, but owners Joe Scully and Kevin Westmoreland seem to come back stronger each time. Their love for the restaurant and Biltmore Village is palpable, and they are excited to be reopening at the beginning of August, pending final inspections.
After water filled the first floor almost to the ceiling, Westmoreland expressed concern that they would lose interior items like the 100-year-old staircase and the fireplaces. However, they found ways to preserve these features in this historic building. According to Westmoreland, they were also able to improve the building in ways that patrons might not see but that will make dining even more comfortable, such as adding insulation that those old buildings never had and installing new heating and air conditioning.
Westmoreland said, “We are ready to be open, and we will be one of the very first in the old houses that George Vanderbilt built at the turn of the century to open.” Like Cheddar’s, they were able to offer employment to many of their team at their sister restaurant Chestnut and will be reopening with a lot of their original staff. “Brian Crow, the culinary director, is still with us,” said Westmoreland. “The two chefs who were the Chef de Cuisine at both restaurants are still with us. Everybody that was a management chef and the front-of-house managers are still with us.”
Considering the scope of the damage from the storm, it’s remarkable that these locations are able to open so soon. Westmoreland mentioned that in meetings with the city of Asheville, they were informed that 500 million dump truck loads of debris were removed from within the city limits alone.
So check out Cheddar’s and watch for The Corner Kitchen’s reopening soon. They’ve accomplished an incredible amount of work in a very short period to serve the Asheville area again. Bon Appétit!