ASHEVILLE – New restaurants and expanded menus; national beer award wins; Cold Mountain weekend details; more dining events and experiences to attend.
New restaurants alert
South Slope is beefing up with restaurants, with the latest additions to come including Eggs Rancheros Kitchen and Xico.
Eggs Rancheros Kitchen will serve Mexican American fare for breakfast and lunch at 224 Biltmore Ave. The opening date to be announced.
Xico, a Mexican fire kitchen, is slated to open on Nov. 15 at 175 Biltmore Ave. Xico’s menu will feature quesadillas, sopes, mole and more. Its casual street food outlet, Xico Chico, will offer tacos. View the full menu at xicoasheville.com.
Chef Scott Linquist, renowned for revolutionizing modern Mexican cuisine in cities like Miami and NYC, Xico brings an avant-garde dining experience rooted in Mexican tradition and flavors.
In North Asheville, Mountain Madre is preparing to open its second Mexican kitchen and agave bar at 791 Merrimon Ave., the former location of Avenue M. The restaurant is hiring; apply online at mountainmadreavl.com.
Learn about more food and beverage establishments that have opened in Asheville so far this year here.
More flavor to savor
Zella’s Deli reopened in September at its new location at 611 Tunnel Road. This week, the East Asheville eatery extended its service hours to offer a full dinner service. The new hours of operation are 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
New specials were announced, including a $5 kids’ dinner menu and Friday Lasagna Night for $17 per diner. Kids age 10 and under eat for $5. And a family-style dinner combo that feeds four people is $45, which includes cheese lasagna, salad, garlic bread and a drink.
For more, visit zellasdeli.com and @zellasdeli on Instagram.
Beer City wins: Great American Beer Festival Awards
The Brewers Association announced its Great American Beer Festival Award winners, with local breweries among the honorees.
The Brewers Association’s 250 expert judges evaluated 8,315 beer and cider entries from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., with 273 breweries and cideries awarded 347 medals.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., in Mills River, won a gold medal for its Weizenbock in the German Wheat Ale category.
Diatribe Brewing Company, in West Asheville, won a silver medal for its Amburana Fruit Punch Sour Ale in the Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer category.
New Belgium Brewing Company’s Fort Collins, Colorado, brewery won the gold for its 1554 brew for Historical Beer. New Belgium also has a taproom in West Asheville.
Oskar Blues Brewery’s Longmont, Colorado, brewery won for its Dale’s Pale Ale in the English Ale category. Oskar Blues also has a location in Brevard.
View the complete list of 2025 winners at greatamericanbeerfestival.com.
Highland Brewing’s Cold Mountain weekend
Highland Brewing’s 29th annual Cold Mountain Winter Ale release weekend celebration, themed “Fire & Ice,” will be hosted from Nov. 7–9. The Cold Mountain Beer Dinner will be on Nov. 6.
The seasonal release is a longtime tradition that helps kick off the winter season. Highland Brewing, Asheville’s pioneer brewery, established in 1994, will mark the occasion with events and activities for adults and the whole family.
Cold Mountain weekend will return Nov. 7-9, 2025 at Highland Brewing.
This year’s limited-edition Cold Mountain Winter Ale varieties include Coconut Cold Mountain, Breakfast Cold Mountain, Cinnamon Roll Cold Mountain, and Barrel Aged Vanilla Cold Mountain. Per-orders will not be accepted this year. All packaged beer will be available at the festival.
The Cold Mountain Beer Dinner will feature an upscale, curated four-course meal with Cold Mountain beer pairings, hosted by Highland President/CEO, Leah Wong Ashburn, in collaboration with Chef Taylor Montgomery of Montgomery Sky Farms in Leicester. Tickets are sold in groups of two at $135 per person. Cocktail hour begins at 5 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6 p.m. The menu pairings include a Jarrahdale dumpling with Spruce Tip Cold Mountain, as well as lamb osso bucco with a Crushable Cold Mountain. View the complete menu and purchase tickets at highlandbrewing.com.
Cold Mountain weekend highlights will include fire spinners, ice carvings, local and regional bands, kids’ music and activities and more. The weekend pass costs $30. Individual day tickets are $10-$15. View the schedule and purchase passes at highlandbrewing.com/coldmountain/.
Highland Brewing’s Cold Mountain Beer Dinner will be on Nov. 6, 2025.
More food and brew events
Save the date for these upcoming events and experiences:
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7th Annual Sausage Festival. Hickory Nut Gap Farm celebrates sausages and whole animal utilization with a festival featuring polka music, artisan vendors, food trucks and vendors, local beers and nonalcoholic beverages, a raffle, adults-only musical chairs for a $150 HNG meat sampler prize, Oktoberfest and fall-themed costumes, and more. The event is from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 8 in HNG’s Big Barn, 57 Sugar Hollow Road in Fairview. Tickets are $12; ages 5 and under get in for free. For more, visit hickorynutgap.com.
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Ace & Eagle grand opening. On Nov. 1, Ace & Eagle will debut its new pickleball courts, golf simulators and e-bike services from 1-7 p.m. at Hi-Wire RAD Beer Garden, 284 Lyman St., in the River Arts District. The event will include a pickleball tournament with Asheville Pickleball Association, free access to golf simulators and billiards, live deejay sets with DJ Meow Meow, local vendors, food trucks, raffles, giveaways and a morning Pilates class with Move Club. The Flying Bike Electric Bike Tours will celebrate its new location by offering free ride demos and discounted rentals throughout the event. For more, visit aceandeagleavl.com, hiwirebrewing.com and flyingbikestours.com.
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Tips, comments, questions? Email tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow @PrincessOfPage on Instagram. Sign up for AVL Bites and Brews, our weekly food and drink newsletter here.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: New Asheville restaurants, Cold Mountain beer, more pickleball courts
