Wicked Weed Funkatorium reopening, Creperie Bouchon says ‘au revoir,’ more food, brew news

ASHEVILLE – An Asheville brewpub and beer garden reopens with flair; a downtown French eatery closes as a new concept is considered; three Italian eateries and drinkeries to visit this spring and summer; a food, beer and art festival canceled before it began; and upcoming events to add to the calendar.

Bringing the funk back to South Slope: Funkatorium reopens

May 1 marks the reopening of Wicked Weed Brewing’s South Slope mixed-culture brewpub, Funkatorium, at 147 Coxe Ave., after it closed amid Tropical Storm Helene last fall.

Funkatorium’s newly revamped beer garden will reopen on May 15. Live music and entertainment are planned.

The new food and beer menu will feature seasonal, wood-fired dishes, inspired by Americana pizzerias.

The Asheville-founded brewery’s award-winning sour beers and other classics, like the Pernicious IPA, Vīdl wines, and housemade cocktails, will be available.

The in-house fabrication team refreshed the brewpub with handcrafted wood and metal work and vibrant murals.

“We had to make the tough decision to pause operations at the Funkatorium in November, not just because of the storm’s impact on operations, but because the reality was our people and our community needed time to regroup and heal,” Walt Dickinson, Wicked Weed co-founder, said in a news release. “In the weeks following, with no water and no visitors to the area, it simply wasn’t the right time. But now—Asheville is ready and we’re coming back reinvigorated and more inspired than ever to welcome folks back through our doors.”

Wicked Weed Brew Pub at 91 Biltmore Ave. downtown and the taproom at 145 Jacob Holm Way in Candler are open. Cultura, the restaurant space connected to Funkatorium, was closed during Helene but is available for private event bookings.

Wicked Weed shared that the company pledged a $100,000 donation to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund in March.

Wicked Weed, which was acquired by Anheuser-Busch, owned by A-B InBev, in 2017, announced that it would invest $1 million to enhance its brewing capabilities and strengthen its business in Asheville. According to the beer industry publication, Brewbound, the announcement coincides with the news that the company would close its 104,000 sq. ft. production facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, this year.

For more details, visit wickedweedbrewing and follow @wickedweedfunkatorium on social media.

Crêperie Bouchon closes downtown

‘Au revoir,’ Crêperie Bouchon, a French-inspired eatery briefly reintroduced in downtown Asheville this year.

On April 26, owner Michel Baudouin released a statement announcing the restaurant’s closure at 62 N. Lexington Ave.

The restaurant operated as Bouchon from 2019 until closing due to Tropical Storm Helene last September. In January, it reopened as Crêperie Bouchon, specializing in crêpes, a concept initially introduced in 2010 but later closed.

Last year, Baudouin told the Citizen Times that he intended to sell the property as part of a plan to slow down before retiring. In the announcement, Baudouin said Crêperie Bouchon would temporarily close as negotiations proceeded with a “seriously interested buyer” prepared to take over the venue and introduce a new concept, though no further details were shared.

“After doing this for 52 years and 43 years since I opened my first restaurant in Texas, the energy required from me to manage two locations is not what it used to be so it’s time to slow down,” Baudouin, who was raised on a farm near Lyon, France, told the Citizen Times in an email on April 28. “With 4 grandchildren and most of our family a thousand miles away I need free time to travel. Bouchon, downtown and all who supported us, A BIG Thank you!! It’s time for someone else to enjoy the success we enjoyed.”

Baudouin’s French fine-dining restaurant, Rendevous, will remain open at 184 New Haw Creek Road.

For more, visit ashevillerendezvous.com and follow @avlrendezvous on Instagram.

Lunch and brunch at Strada Italiano and Gemelli

Strada Italiano has added weekend lunch service, beginning at 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays at 27 Broadway St. The menu features antipasti, salads, and house-made and specialty pasta, like short rib bolognese, grilled Florentine ravioli and vegan lasagna.

Also, its adjoining Social Lounge has opened its rooftop patio for the season.

Gemelli, their sister restaurant in West Asheville, also serves Italian fare and has added brunch service for weekend guests at 70 Westgate Parkway. The offerings include French toast bread pudding, shrimp and grits, and shakshuka.

Italian desserts and coffees are available.

View the menus at stradaasheville.com and gemelli.restaurant.

Asheville food and beer festival canceled

Asheville Brewers Alliance and FIRC Group’s “For the Love of Craft,” which was scheduled to debut in May, has been canceled.

The organizers said that the event, which was postponed from its original February date, did not garner enough ticket sales.

“For the Love of Craft” was planned to showcase local breweries, artisans and gourmet mac and cheese at Battery Park Hall in the Haywood Park Atrium downtown.

The news release, sent on behalf of Asheville Brewers Alliance’s executive director, and FIRC Group’s director of marketing, Mike Lovett, stated, “This event was always intended as a fundraiser to support the hardworking vendors and small businesses that make Asheville’s craft culture so vibrant. We hold too much respect for these partners to move forward with an event that would not provide the return on investment and community participation they truly deserve.”

Asheville food and beverage events

• Pop-up drive-thru Greek Fest. An abbreviated spring edition of the annual fall Greek Fest will be hosted May 2-3 at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 227 Cumberland Ave. in the historic Montford neighborhood. For menu and directions, visit avlgreekfest.com.

• Derby on the Roof. A Kentucky Derby-style soiree from 5-8 p.m. May 3. at Wildwood Still, a rooftop restaurant bar at Moxy Asheville, 61 Biltmore Ave. downtown. The event will offer gourmet bites, Derby cocktails, like Mint Juleps, and the race will be livestreamed. Derby fashion is encouraged. Tickets are $55 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Purchase tickets at wildwoodstill.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/Bluesky.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville Food Bites: Wicked Weed’s Funkatorium reopening, more news