Main Street Hendersonville Fares as Main Street USA

Haven't been to Hendersonville's Main Street in a while? Businesses are closing at an alarming rate.

That being said, there are many reasons businesses close: owners divorce, the final straw in a string of poor management decisions, new building owners with a different vision, lack of aggressive or exciting marketing, etc. Of course, with the economy we have today, improving as it may be, any business without a large enough cash reserve can easily get in to trouble.

Unverified by myself (verification to follow), but checked by a friend on Main Street, Picasso's (242 North Main Street) has closed.

Mountain Lore Books and More (408 North Main Street) is closing in a few days. This is an extremely tough time for independent book stores.

Shockingly on the heels of their move from a smaller Main Street location to the space next door to Black Bear Coffee Co, Pink Corsets (318 North Main Street) has closed. The picture below shows a note from the owner.


Of note to art and craft lovers, Revolving Arts Gallery's last day at their current location (511 North Main Street) will be Christmas Eve. They expect to reopen at another location still to be determined.


And, as reported on Hendersonville Epicurean here, Savannah's Tea Room & Cafe will be closing this month.


Portobello A Marketplace (530 North Main Street) closed in the last month or so. Neither their space or the empty space previously occupied by La Reserva (342 N. Main Street) has been leased.

Lastly, there's a rumor circulating, still not firm enough to mention, that another much loved eatery will be closing. All body parts are crossed in the hope that this DOES NOT happen! I'll keep you posted on this one.

Moral of the story: SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES OR THEY WON'T BE

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Breakfast is Back at Dog Town

Dog Town
4195 Haywood Road
Mills River, NC 28759-9740
(828) 891-7888

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Heard of Downtown Deal$???

It's a little late, but I just found out about a new feature offered online by Downtown Hendersonville, Inc. It's called Downtown Deal$ and can be found at http://DowntownHendersonville.org/Downtown-Deals. Here's a screen shot:

This site is full of special discount coupons for downtown businesses (including restaurants). All the coupons currently posted expire on 12/31/2009, but I'm hoping they'll put up new coupons regularly - monthly, quarterly, seasonally, etc.

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Got Cookies?

You need cookies and you need them fast! You really want homemade cookies, not store-bought, for that office party, gift for your neighbor or church potluck, but you just don't have the time to bake.

I stumbled on the solution this afternoon! Mountain Pie Company is baking a slew of different homemade cookies and putting them together onto trays just for you. Imagine the time it would take to bake and decorate all the different cookies pictured below! Click to enlarge photos.

Small rectangular tray - $20.00 plus tax

Small round tray - $20.00 plus tax


Large rectangular tray - $30.00 plus tax

Lean toward your monitor, because I'm going to whisper something to you . . . Don't tell anyone, but I snuck three cookies off my tray before I got home.

Mountain Pie Company
3400 Asheville Highway
Hendersonville, NC 28791
(828) 693-0501

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It's Happening . . .

Iannucci's Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant is indeed opening a second location at the spot previously occupied by Bella Regina - 1508 Asheville Highway, Hendersonville, NC 28792.

They are shooting for a first or second week in January, 2010 opening.

The original Iannucci's Pizzeria and Italian is located at 1981 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, NC 28803-2122. Their phone number at is (828) 684-5050.

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Black Rose Rumors - TRUE!

I LOVE rumors!

Positive rumors that involve WNC restaurants are best. But, changing rumors (good or bad) into facts, brings a huge sense of satisfaction.

Black Rose Public House has been the subject of a rumor recently. It goes like this: "I heard Black Rose got a new Chef and the food has gotten way better." A few surreptitious calls later, including to the Chef in question, and I had verified that yes, Black Rose has a new Chef (Emile Duprey) as of about seven months ago. Hmmm. New Chef? Better food? Hey PIC, how fast can we get over to Black Rose for dinner?

Actually, we'd been planning on stopping in during the Small Plate Crawl for their Crab Stuffed Mushrooms ($7.99), but just didn't make it. So, it was exciting to see it on the Appetizer menu Monday, November 16th (yes, it's taken me a while to get this written).

So how much crab stuffing can one mushroom cap hold? A lot! Each stuffed cap is topped with melted Pepper Jack Cheese and then drizzled with a roasted red pepper aoli, resulting in a little kick soon after each bite hits your tongue. The four stuffed caps are served on a bed of mostly spinach. Perhaps it was supposed to be all spinach, but a few other greens made their way onto the plate?

PIC's (not Person In Charge, as someone recently asked, but Partner In Crime) Molasses Soy Glazed Salmon ($12.99) was great! Having lived, and eaten salmon fresh off the boat, in the Pacific Northwest, we are disappointed at less than wonderful salmon!

Black Rose's salmon was glazed with a molasses, soy sauce, ginger and honey mixture, served over Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and tender-crisp winter vegetables. The fish was juicy and full of flavor from the glaze. I don't know why they served it with a steak knife, unless it was to cut the veggies? The salmon broke apart easily with a fork, as it should.


My 8oz Char Grilled Choice Sirloin ($11.99) was ordered and delivered, cooked "medium". Seasoned perfectly for my taste, it was topped with chopped scallions and a champagne basil butter that was putting on a mouth-watering show, melting gradually over the top and down the sides of the steak. It was served on the same Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and winter vegetables as the salmon.


In response to the "food is way better" part of the rumor, I'm not able to compare dish to dish, so it's tough to say how much better it is. I can say it's definitely very, very good as of this writing!

PIC and I really like the ambiance at Black Rose. It reminds us both of college haunts. I have difficulty breathing around cigarette smoke, but we haven't ever had a problem with it at Black Rose (no smokers when we dined) as some others have, but as of January, they'll be completely non-smoking.

Interior photos can be seen in this previous Black Rose review.

Black Rose Public House
222 North Main Street
Hendersonville, NC 28792-5069
(828) 698-2622



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