“Restaurant group returns with Taste of Asheville”

Restaurant group returns with Taste of Asheville

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 08:26 PM PST

ASHEVILLE — All local restaurateurs might be trying to attract the same diners, but there aren't any real food fights among Asheville-area independent restaurants.

"The restaurants don't view each other as competitors," said Steve Frabitore, owner of Tupelo Honey Café. "We are a resource to each other. The restaurant community reaches out to its members and helps when they have an issue."

It's this sense of community that is celebrated at the Taste of Asheville, a fundraiser for the Asheville Independent Restaurants held this year at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at The Venue.

More than 30 AIR member restaurants will serve up samples of their menus. Admission to the event also includes a Taste of Asheville Passport, a coupon booklet representing more than $600 in dining savings at AIR restaurants. Cost is $50, or $75 per couple.

AIR is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting awareness of locally owned and operated restaurants, as well as raising funds for culinary student scholarships.

A portion of the proceeds from Taste of Asheville ticket sales, as well as all proceeds from the silent auction, will benefit AIR's Chefs of Tomorrow Scholarships for culinary students at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.

Taste of Asheville returned last year after the organization took a year off from the event. The 2010 version, however, represents "a renewed energy and commitment" from the organization, Frabitore said.

You can tell the increased interest in the organization just by looking at the Taste of Asheville lineup: There are 31 participating restaurants this year, compared with 18 last year.

"We've also increased our members (recently) by 25 percent," said Frabitore, who will be president of AIR in 2011.

Tracy Griffin, who owns Blue Water Seafood Co. with her husband, David, is one of these new members.

They opened their Asheville location of the seafood restaurant and market in August. "Most of the members are our customers for wholesale," she said. "We already had that relationship … and it's so nice to work together to make our business work. When everybody comes together and supports each other, it makes everybody stronger."

Frabitore also thinks that the difficult economic times have encouraged independent restaurants to work together.

"In terms of the resurgence of AIR, I think it's just a function of collective wisdom," he said. "People are realizing you don't have to stand alone in a very difficult business and in a very difficult economic situation."

This cooperation means members go to one another when they need to hire a new chef or are looking for more local farms to work with. For Griffin, she's already signed up with a local composting company because of the connections she's made during an AIR meeting.

Ultimately, an active organization representing independent restaurants will help "drive the food culture" that Asheville is known for, Frabitore said.

"It's like high tide — all the boats rise," he said. "The better that we can make each other … the greater the promise for our local and tourists coming in."

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