ASHEVILLE - Over beers, Andrew Ross and Jesse Van Note brainstormed the concept for a bar that would specialize in rare, hard-to-find and specialty beers from local, domestic and global breweries while sitting in a brewery in the South Slope brewing district.
In 2017, they introduced The Whale: A Craft Beer Collective in the West Asheville neighborhood and, over the years, the business has expanded with locations across the city and into Charleston and Greenville, South Carolina.
On July 3, the homegrown and revered beer bar, with the name inspired by the classic tale “Moby Dick,” has made a full circle return to the South Slope.
Ross and Van Note hosted a pre-Fourth of July holiday trial-by-fire public opening, inviting the public to get a first look inside The Whale’s newest location at 21 Buxton Ave.
It’s the third in the city, joining its bars at 507 Haywood Road in West Asheville and The Whale Outpost at 2 Beverly Road in the Haw Creek neighborhood of East Asheville.
“We’ve always had an interest and an attachment to this side of town for sure because of where we got our start,” Ross told the Citizen Times.
“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.
Each originally designed venue has its own vibe while staying on brand and upholding the standard of delivering a high caliber selection of beers, ciders, wine, mead and other craft and nonalcoholic drinks on draft or by the bottle or canned to consume in-house. It also offers a wide retail selection to-go.
The Whale South Slope, reportedly slightly larger than the other two Asheville bars at nearly 1,600 square feet, offers two floors of bar and entertainment spaces. A benefit of it sharing an address with Green Man Brewery’s ghost kitchen, Green Man Eats, is that there will be in-house food available.
On the main floor, The Whale has been equipped with a large screen TV, a shuffleboard table and tabletop multicade machine with classic games like Pac-Man.
Upstairs, guests will have access to two pinball machines and a bar installed with twenty beer taps.
Local graphic artist Savannah Bockus was commissioned for The Whale’s artwork designs.
“This will be our most adventurous one to date,” Van Note told the Citizen Times.
“Expect elevated product and expect elevated service,” Ross said.
This year, The Whale ranked No. 4 on USA TODAY’s 10Best media company’s Top 10 list of the Best Beer Bars in the U.S., moving up from No. 6 in 2023.
The Whale South Slope
Where: 21 Buxton Ave., Asheville, South Slope brewing district.
Hours: 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.
Noon to 11 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday.
Info: For more, visit thewhalecollective.com and follow on Instagram @thewhalewavl.
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 asubscription to the Citizen Times.
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