We mentioned in our last post that we found downtown Asheville, North Carolina to be recovering from flooding and damage after Hurricane Helene. But our last trip also took us to a few places outside of downtown proper – and we think they’re worth mentioning!
In particular, West Asheville is home to lots of funky eclectic spots for food and drink. It’s not necessarily walkable from downtown, but worth the short drive (or rideshare).
As fans of natural wine, our first stop in this area was Leo’s House of Thirst. A literal “house,” this cool space has as much room outdoors as it does inside. They have a great list of wines by the bottle and by the glass, and their small kitchen space puts out some big flavors! We will definitely visit here again.
Just down the street we found some amazing cocktails at Character Study. We could have spent all day here, as it’s also a place to browse, buy, and read books cleverly placed all over the room. They have daily drink specials and we were fortunate enough to find their Old Fashioned as the special that day. We pulled up some comfy chairs and settled in! Absolutely a #tipsypick for anytime we’re in town.
Another neighborhood that’s still recovering and worth your time (and money) is the River Arts District. This former industrial area is now home to dozens of art galleries, studios, restaurants, bars, and breweries. Many of them are just getting back on their feet after Helene. We stopped in (after a bit of a search – it’s unmarked) for a drink at a cool little spot called the Crucible. The inside space is small and moody, with actual crucibles on the tables (ceramic containers used for melting or heating things like metal). We had their riff on an Old Fashioned called Gather Your Flowers, which featured toasted pecan-infused bourbon. There’s also a nice patio space outside. Business has picked up lately after Esquire Magazine named it one of the “Best Bars in America” for 2025. You’ll see why.
This neighborhood is also home to a number of breweries, which we will get to at some point! For this visit, while we were in the area, we chose to go #offthetipsypath to two of the largest production breweries in the region. That may sound a bit off brand, until you realize that they are among the largest employers of local staff and have contributed to the recovery of the community since Hurricane Helene.
New Belgium Brewing is based in Colorado but opened its second production hub in Asheville just west of downtown in 2016. They have a scenic 18-acre spot along the river with plenty of space to relax and enjoy the scenery along with some of their award-winning beer. It’s worth a visit just for the tasting room and patio!
And if you go just a bit farther south of Asheville you come to what you might call the Disney World of beer… Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. This campus in Mills River is a destination in itself. Along with brewery tours daily, they also have a fantastic restaurant and taproom where you can indulge in all the beer offerings on tap. Sierra Nevada is still owned by the same family that started it and they are very active at the NC facility as well as collaborating with other local breweries. Big and successful can still mean #shoplocal and #drinklocal.
And yes, we realize we left off the most obvious local brewery, Highland. Saving that for next time!
We’ll end with the same message we started with – go visit these amazing Asheville spots that need your support and your business!
Let us know which ones were your #tipsypicks!
