Gina Smith

Asheville

Food Editor and Writer at Mountain Xpress

Asheville eastsider, coordinator @abfoodpolicy, features editor @edibleavl, parent, other stuff

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Articles

In the Weeds: Updates from an Asheville hemp innovator and a new state cannabis advisory council

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Gina Smith

Asheville farmer and entrepreneur Franny Tacy has long been considered a North Carolina hemp pioneer. Working from her farm in Leicester, she broke ground as the state’s first female hemp grower in 2017, then blazed a trail as one of the first women in the Southeast to operate a cannabis dispensary with the launch of Franny’s Farmacy in downtown Asheville in 2018.
Vending Machine Drama: City pulls the plug on neighborhood fun

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Edwin Arnaudin |Gina Smith |Christopher Arbor |Kay West

- by Thomas CalderThe gathering is a rebuke of what organizers say is the Trump administration's "authoritarian excess, corruption and attack on personal freedoms," according to a press release from Indivisible Asheville/WNC. - by Brionna DallaraAt its June 10 meeting, Asheville City Council approved next year's budget, which includes a property tax increase, raises for city employees and hiring on more firefighters.
What’s new in food: Food and fun at Bountiful Cities Birdhouse Auction

1 week ago | mountainx.com | Gina Smith

Local food and art are in the spotlight at local urban agriculture nonprofit Bountiful Cities’ upcoming Birdhouse Auction Benefit. Also this week: VeganFest returns to Pack Square Park, Manicomio closes with a new pizza shop coming, local chefs plan summer pop-up dinners and a Hendersonville grocery store reopens after Tropical Storm Helene. See below for the live links from each individual news item:
Stream Local: Podcasters explore life in WNC and beyond

2 weeks ago | mountainx.com | Edwin Arnaudin |Gina Smith |Christopher Arbor |Greg Parlier

- by Blue Ridge Public RadioA pioneering Medicaid program that has delivered food, housing support, and transportation to nearly 30,000 low-income North Carolinians is set to end July 1.
Cúrate ups its game with a trio of new leaders

2 weeks ago | mountainx.com | Gina Smith

For the Asheville-based Katie Button Restaurants (KBR), 2025 is shaping up to be a year of major transformations. In February, the group announced that its popular downtown restaurant, La Bodega by Cúrate, would not reopen after Tropical Storm Helene. Instead, the South Lexington Avenue space morphed into a venue, hosting private events and allowing KBR to offer its own special gatherings, like the upcoming Thursday, June 12, Pinche Pintxo Party with chef Luis Martinez and Botanist & Barrel.
What’s new in food: A Basque-Oaxacan cider bash, Fitz and the Wolfe and more

2 weeks ago | mountainx.com | Gina Smith

Cúrate chef James Jefferies partners with chef Luis Martinez of Taqueria Rosita and Tequio Foods to host the Pinche Pintxo Party on Thursday, June 12. Also in this week’s food news, Chill Cereal Bar relaunches and publishes a new coloring book, Fitz and the Wolfe opens downtown, Zella’s Deli announces a new location, Bargello offers a pasta-making class and a local artist displaced by Tropical Storm Helene creates artwork for Earth Fare. Click the story below to view the full-size version.
Adam Strange releases a new book and instigates a dive-bar art sale

3 weeks ago | mountainx.com | Gina Smith

Adam Strange could be considered a rare vestige of what some longtime locals wistfully refer to as “Old Asheville” — the offbeat, creative culture that thrived downtown in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now a dad with a regular job as a supervisor with French Broad Chocolates, Strange landed in Asheville in the early 1990s as part of the legendary freestyling funk band Granola Funk Express (GFE).
Animal House: The WNC Nature Center celebrates its centennial

3 weeks ago | mountainx.com | Gina Smith |Brionna Dallara |Morgan Sykes |Greg Parlier

- by Brionna DallaraAsheville City Council heard little from the public regarding a proposed property tax increase at a May 27 public hearing on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025-26. Instead, the… - by Morgan SykesThe proposed budget forecasts a net lodging tax revenue of $32.5 million.
What’s new in food: Honey Fest, Asheville Forager and the loss of a local beer pioneer

3 weeks ago | mountainx.com | Gina Smith

The Asheville community mourns the recent loss of Highland Brewing founder Oscar Wong. Also, the Center for Honeybee Research’s annual Honey Fest makes its sweet return, Asheville Forager grocery store looks forward to its grand opening on Wall Street, Deep Time Café launches in West Asheville, Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse’s HotBox sandwich shop makes its seasonal appearance and much more. Click the story below to view the full-size version. See below for the live links from each individual news item:
What’s new in food: A wave of restaurant openings, reopenings and closings

1 month ago | mountainx.com | Gina Smith

New restaurants are rolling out and several are reopening after closures after Tropical Storm Helene. Meanwhile, longtime downtown vegetarian restaurant Laughing Seed and two other local spots are shuttering. Also, local forager Alan Muskat has found a culinary use for this summer’s cicada brood, and two Asheville tailgate markets have relocated. Click the story below to view the full-size version.