Highland Brewing Co. Returns to Downtown Asheville

Highland Brewing Co. in Asheville, North Carolina has announced its return to downtown Asheville for the first time in 13 years.

The new Highland taproom will be "anchoring a curated food hall concept in the historic Art Deco S&W Cafeteria building at 56 Patton Avenue," per a release from the brewery. "It’s a special homecoming for us as we join the folks at Ellington Realty Group and four-time James Beard award nominee Chef Meherwan Irani to revive this Asheville Art Deco treasure and create the S&W Market."

The new taproom is slated to open in Spring 2020. The full release from Highland is below.

After 13 years, we are returning to downtown Asheville! In addition to our brewery in East Asheville, we’ll have a Highland taproom anchoring a curated food hall concept in the historic Art Deco S&W Cafeteria building at 56 Patton Avenue. It’s a special homecoming for us as we join the folks at Ellington Realty Group and four-time James Beard award nominee Chef Meherwan Irani to revive this Asheville Art Deco treasure and create the S&W Market.

We love making bold moves on a meaningful and authentic path. We opened Asheville’s first brewery since Prohibition in 1994, we moved from a basement to our current destination in 2006, we navigated the shift to second-generation family leadership in 2015, and we revolutionized our brand in 2018. These decisions and consistent high-quality beer led us to become North Carolina’s largest native brewery. We are eternally grateful to be celebrated as The South’s Best Brewery and recognized by our peers and the press. As a result, I have been presented with many opportunities to open a second taproom across the Southeast, but I’ve had no interest in another location, until now.

HIGHLAND’S MISSION IS TO CULTIVATE AND CELEBRATE BEER, BUSINESS, PEOPLE, AND PLACE. WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY, WE ACHIEVE ALL FOUR THINGS.

Our finely crafted beer, in an exciting new business model, involving people and families with local roots, in an iconic place. It’s a perfect fit for our Mission. I will love enjoying a Highland beer in this building. 

When my father started this brewery in the basement of Barley’s back in 1994, he could not have imagined 30+ breweries in town. He didn’t even want a taproom at the brewery!

Who’d have guessed that we’d return to open a second taproom downtown 25 years later? 

WE’RE RETURNING TO WHERE WE STARTED, BUT WITH NEW EYES, NEW BEERS, AND A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF THE NEXT CHAPTER FOR THIS SOUTHERN CITY.

This location is slated to open Spring 2020. We are excited to share this project’s evolution through our website and social media, so read more below, stay tuned for updates, and plan your visit to BOTH Highland locations in 2020!

Cheers,

Leah Wong Ashburn

Second Generation Family-Owner

President/CEO