Category Archives: Asheville Local News

Work begins on downtown Asheville AC Hotel

Published in Asheville History, Asheville Live, Asheville Local News, Events, Travel on December 12, 2014

http://avlne.ws/1Dj1dIY

Work starts on downtown Asheville AC Hotel; 132-room hotel will be a Marriott property.

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Buncombe Commissioners approve $1.3 million for Enka-Candler sports complex

Published in Asheville Local News on September 3, 2014

Enka-Candler sports complex

After an hour-long discussion and seven stipulations, Buncombe County commissioners approved donating $1.3 million to help fund a new Enka-Candler sports complex — although one commissioner described the proposal as a “little outside the norm.”

Enka-Candler sports complexThe Enka-Candler sports complex would consist of seven baseball fields on 90 acres near Interstate 40 at the former Enka/BASF manufacturing site. The land will be donated by Fletcher Partners, and the complex will be built and maintained by the Enka Youth Sports Organization (EYSO), a nonprofit created in the last few weeks. Buncombe’s $1.3 million would go to EYSO, which has not yet achieved its official 501(c)3 status.

“I think it’s a sound plan,” said Commissioner Holly Jones. “That said, we’re getting to [fund] a nonprofit where the ink’s not dry [on its status], there’s no financials to look at, so we’re kind of going out here on faith with a big dollar amount. I believe in you, but I just wanted to say that in terms of transparency and accountability that [what we’re doing] is outside of our norm.”

According to project progenitor and Fletcher Partners member Martin Lewis, the Enka-Candler sports complex will be entirely self-sustaining,

Article source: http://www.newsfeedmaker.com/article/221725546/9cad0b81 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

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Foodie vacation destination: The Admiral in Asheville, N.C.

Published in Asheville Food, Asheville Local News on February 24, 2014

Go For the Food is a weekly AP food and travel series about food as a driver of tourism.

BY LINDSEY TANNER

ASHEVILLE, N.C. | In downtown Asheville, good restaurants are as handsomely conspicuous as the artsy boutiques and bodegas that give the Blue Ridge Mountain mecca its trendy, vibrant flair.

IF YOU GOCooks @ The Admiral

• The Admiral: 400 Haywood Road, West Asheville, N.C., 828-252-2541SunnyPointCafe

• Sunny Point Cafe: 626 Haywood Road, West Asheville, N.C., 828-252-0055

Across the French Broad River, in West Asheville? Not so much. This is the funkier side of town, where families, artists and workers live in frame bungalows lining narrow, hilly side streets, and the main drag, Haywood Road, has an earthier, slightly gritty feel.

That’s why driving down Haywood, you’re more apt to notice the gas station across the street than the squat cinder block building that houses The Admiral.

“Chances are, you will pass us at least three times. You won’t be able to find a good parking place,” said Admiral co-owner Drew Wallace.

When The Admiral opened in 2007, Wallace and business partner Jonathan Robinson called this

Article source: http://www.newsfeedmaker.com/article/191302054/9cad0b81 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

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Sierra Nevada gets closer to rolling out beer and opening

Published in Asheville Attractions, Asheville Local News, North Carolina News on February 24, 2014

While there still is more work to do before full-scale production commences, Sierra Nevada has achieved a spot-on flavor match between its two top-selling brands produced in Mills River and at the company’s Chico, Calif. brewery.

Sierra Nevada Pale AleSierra Nevada Pale Ale and Torpedo Extra IPA — the No. 2-selling craft beer in the U.S. and top-selling IPA in the country, respectively — are now being brewed and bottled at the Mills River plant, but company spokesman Ryan Arnold said they are “still probably a couple of months out before we’re really pushing things out the door.”

Sierra Nevada’s quality-control process is a rigorous one, with up to 150 checks conducted in its high-tech research and development lab. The company says it tests everything from raw ingredients and water chemistry to full-spectrum molecular analysis to determine if its beer “has a potential for off-flavors before it ever makes it out of the kettle or fermenter.” The company also is splitting shipments of malt and hops between Mills River and Chico to eliminate variability from batch to batch and ensure consistency

Article source: http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20140219/ARTICLES/140219855 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

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Premier Distributor of Outdoor Recreation Products Locates in Asheville

Published in Asheville Local News, North Carolina News on February 24, 2014

SportHansa
In conjunction with the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County (EDC) and Venture Asheville, Sport Hansa LLC, a premier importer and distributor of European outdoor product brands, today announced its relocation to Asheville.  The firm’s expanded distribution center will allow for continued growth and expansion of product lines that today include Helle knives of Norway, Kupilka camping dishware of Finland, Montane technical outerwear and Terra Nova tents of the United Kingdom, as well as Wetterlings Axe Works of Sweden.  The three-year-old company will locate at 10 Business Park Circle in Arden.

“As we continued to expand our customer base and add further European brands, we looked for a location that offered key attributes such as a business friendly environment and a cluster of other important players in the outdoor industry. After an extensive search, Asheville continually came up at the top of our list,” stated Matt Huff, Managing Director of Sport Hansa. The company is relocating its headquarters and distribution operations from Longmont, Colorado.

Additionally, the firm announced the appointment of a new Director of Marketing and Inside Sales. Formerly with North Carolina based

Article source: http://www.ashevillechamber.org/economic-development/announcements-and-press-releases/premier-distributor-outdoor-recreation-produc-0 If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

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GE Aviation Expansion Highlighted in Site Selection Magazine

Published in Asheville Local News, North Carolina News on February 24, 2014

Site Selection Magazine- September 2013

Mark Arend

Sometimes A State Really Does Have the Best Work Force

GEnx LH 747-8

GE Aviation picks an underdog location for its ceramic matrix composite plant, lifting the fortunes of four Tar Heel communities, not just one.

Talk about a vote of confidence. GE Aviation is investing nearly $200 million in four North Carolina sites primarily because of the state’s work force.

One of the locations — Asheville — will be home to a new, $125-million plant for producing Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) components for the next-gen LEAP commercial aircraft engines being developed by CFM, a joint venture of GE Aviation and French aerospace concern Snecma. Composites are used routinely in aircraft manufacturing, but CMC is the first composite being used in the hot section, or core, of the engine. GE will produce a stationary component called a turbine shroud initially. Less air is required to cool the part, so more air is applied to propulsion, making the engine more efficient. More CMC components will follow.

Meanwhile, GE Aviation is also investing

Article source: http://www.ashevillechamber.org/economic-development/announcements-and-press-releases/ge-aviation-expansion-highlighted-site-selecti If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

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Asheville welcomes 27th Arts & Crafts Conference

Published in Asheville Attractions, Asheville Local News on February 24, 2014

ASHEVILLE — Fairview’s Bruce Johnson is nationally known as the spokesman for Minwax furniture refinishing products. Locally, he’s highly visible as the organizer of this weekend’s Arts and Crafts Conference that showcases Mission-style furniture and brings several thousand visitors to the Omni Grove Park Inn each February.

But who knew that this fine furniture man once committed a youthful act of family furniture disrespect?

Growing up in Illinois, the teenage Bruce covered the lid of his father’s Arts and Crafts drop front desk with decals of his favorite baseball teams, ruining the finish.

“Years later I retrieved it from my parents’ attic and carefully restored it,” Johnson said earlier this week. Seven moves and four decades later, “it sits right here in my office,” he said, “a daily reminder of how important it is to save and restore our family heirlooms for future generations.”

Thinking historically

As this year’s Arts and Crafts Conference gets underway Friday, Johnson is also thinking historically. “In 1988, I started a three-day conference, thinking it was a one year deal,” he said, “and lo and behold, here we are 27 years later.”

That first effort drew 300

Article source: http://www.blackmountainnews.com/article/20140219/NEWS/302190035/Asheville-welcomes-27th-Arts-Crafts-Conference If you need a cheap air ticket, hotel or rental car please visit http://www.airticket.com

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