ASHEVILLE - Bar entrepreneurs Andrew Ross and Jesse Van Note’s latest endeavor will make exclusive and rare craft beverages accessible in the South Slope brewing district.
The Whale: A Craft Beer Collective founders will open a third location in the city at 21 Buxton Ave., expected to open in early summer.
“South Slope is the heart of the beer in Asheville,” Ross said. “This is the most saturated area of beer tourism and for us to be able to exist down here, we offer a different product than anyone down here but it’s in line with the neighborhood.”
Van Note said The Whale ― ranked No. 4 for USA Today’s 10Best award for Best Beer Bars in the U.S. ― offers an elevated beer experience without the pretension and with products to appeal to beer and nonbeer drinkers alike with a menu of alternative beverages like cider, seltzer, wine and nonalcoholic drinks. Customers may receive guidance and education from the bar’s trained staff as they explore the diverse, rotating menu in a relaxed, fun and inclusive environment.
The Whale, founded in 2017, has five locations, including its original site at 507 Haywood Road in West Asheville and The Whale Outpost at 2 Beverly Road in the Haw Creek neighborhood in East Asheville. The two other bars are in Charleston and Greenville, South Carolina.
Van Note said they’re excited to get into downtown after having been on either side of it in West Asheville and Haw Creek.
West Asheville and Haw Creek are neighborhood-focused but downtown, where Ross said he’s lived for 15 years, will be in a tourist-driven area.
The downtown connection runs deeper as Ross said he and Van Note used to work at Wicked Weed Brewing’s Funkatorium and brainstorm The Whale’s concept.
“We’ve always had an interest and an attachment to this side of town for sure because of where we got our start, Ross said.
“This is the block we met on, this is the block we came up with The Whale, this is the block where all our friends are and we spend a lot of time down here, so to be back on this block is a cool, full-circle great Asheville feeling,” he said.
Next stop: South Slope
The Whale South Slope will share a space with Green Man Brewery’s ghost kitchen, Green Man Eats, which serves the brewery’s neighboring taprooms at Green Mansion and Dirty Jack’s and will provide food service for The Whale.
“Food is important, and we’ve always partnered up with a food component for all of our locations so for us it just made sense to have an in-house partner, but we are separate businesses,” Ross said.
Van Note said they never intended to open a third location in Asheville but “the cards landed in the right spot with the right people.”
Ross said The Whale will occupy the front of the commercial space ― estimated at 1,600 square feet and slightly larger than the two other Asheville locations.
Ross and Van Note are keeping other details about South Slope under wraps for now but teased that it will have cool design aesthetics and surprises.
“This will be our most adventurous one to date,” Van Note said.
The existing locations embody unique characters and styles. The partners assured the new venue will still offer a curated “Whale vibe” with the same high caliber of beverages at its core.
“Expect elevated product and expect elevated service,” Ross said.
Ross said he and Van Note thank Asheville for its support over the years and for entrusting and allowing them to do what they do.
“We’re grateful for that because there’s not many places that we would ever think about doing a third location in, but Asheville’s treated us so well and trusted us and visited all of our locations and embraced us. We’re super grateful," Ross said.
Van Note said there are no immediate plans to open additional locations, but the partners are open to new opportunities.
What’s next for The Whale
The Whale and Burial Beer Co. have collaborated on a special Cold IPA, The Disease of Moral Greatness, commemorated with a themed music party at the businesses’ locations across the Southeast.
On May 11, the Burial x The Whale World Tour: Hip Hop Day Rage will be from 1-4 p.m. at The Whale in West Asheville. For more dates, visit thewhalecollective.com .
The Whale South Slope
Where: 21 Buxton Ave., Asheville,
Tentatively opening: Summer 2024.
Info: For more, visit thewhalecollective.com and follow on Instagram @thewhalewavl .
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times .
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville's rare beer bar to expand with a new location
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