Highland’s 2nd Taproom to Open Inside New S&W Market Food Hall

The S&W Market, Asheville’s first food hall and event space, announced that it will open its doors to the public at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 16. Located in the iconic S&W Building (56 Patton Avenue), right in the heart of downtown Asheville, The S&W Market will be home to some of the best local food and drink from Asheville’s renowned culinary community — and bring new life to the historic building which originally opened as the S&W Cafeteria in 1929. Anchoring the space will be Highland Brewing Company — Asheville’s original craft brewery — who will open their second taproom at S&W, with both first floor and mezzanine-level bars.

Ellington Realty Group has partnered with five-time James Beard nominee Meherwan Irani — of Chai Pani Restaurant Group and Spicewalla — to open the S&W, who has curated five exciting new concepts from popular local chefs and restaurateurs (including a new concept of his own, Buxton Chicken Palace, which he’s opening alongside his Buxton Hall BBQ partner, the celebrated chef and pitmaster Elliott Moss). Other tenants at the S&W Market include Bun Intended (Thai street food), Farm Dogs (grass-fed hot dogs, handcrafted sausages, and locally-made pretzels), Peace Love Tacos (a variety of tacos and a-la-carte favorites), The Hop Ice Cream S&W (locally-made ice cream), and The Times Bar (a cocktail bar that sits adjacent to the food hall).

“We are extremely proud to be able to bring the S&W Building back as the center of community with Asheville’s first food hall,” said Burns Aldridge, managing broker of Ellington Realty Group. “The local makers who are coming together for this project are incredibly talented, and we know that with the variety and quality of beer and food we will have, the S&W Market is going to resonate with locals and visitors as a place to return to again and again.”

“With its rich history so steeped in place — a former gathering place of the city lovingly restored to be that once again — the S&W Building is a space that’s meant to be shared,” Irani said. “We knew we needed a concept that opened this special building to all, and the S&W Market does just that. I’m so proud of the talented local businesses that have come together — both established and up-and-coming — all driven by a passion to showcase Asheville’s incredible culinary diversity to locals and visitors alike.”