The podcast above features a conversation with Jen Hampton about the Business Improvement District planned for downtown Asheville, as well as a visit from the Pizza Guy, and some unsolicited advice about writing negative reviews in public forums.
Podcast Contents
00:00 - 06:17 INTRO: Asheville is a Wonderful Little City
06:18 - 30:58 BID BREAKDOWN: I’m Joined by Jen Hampton from Just Economics WNC & Asheville Food and Beverage United to Discuss Implementation of the Downtown Business Improvement District aka The BID.
30:59 - 35:16 WHERE’D YA EAT? Jen Lives for Taco Billy
35:25 - 36:33 THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING NI…
36:34 - 44:16 THE PIZZA GUY IS HERE! Inspired by Julia Child and The Podcast!
44:29 - 45:14 MANNA SPOT: Please Donate to MANNA Foodbank.
45:16 - 51:11 THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING NICE: “Should I Write a Negative Review?"
51:12 - 52:30 OUTRO: Thanks and Bye!
WORKING WITH THE BID: Despite all the vagaries, questions, doubts, opposition, suspicions, and outrage about the proposed Business Improvement District (BID) for downtown Asheville, our city council — with the notable exception of Councilperson Roney — voted “YES” to approve the BID and form the BID board, so whether the citizens at large wanted it or not, it’s here and it’s real, and now it’s up to us to inform ourselves about it so that we all clearly understand it, and when it comes to the implementation of the BID, we need to assert ourselves so that we have some control over it. You can read more about the BID and how to make your voices heard in various ways by clicking THIS LINK and you can read The City’s of Asheville’s BID information page by clicking HERE.
THE PIZZA GUY IS HERE! He's done it again, y'all. Chef Drew Peterson from Asheville Pizza South always brings me his pizza of the month, and it's always real good! June’s pie was called the “Coq Au Vin,” and it was exceptional!
Chef Drew continues to crush the creativity when it comes to his Pizza of the Month offerings. As always, I'll let him describe it for you...
"Coq Au Vin pizza. Inspiration from you and Tom and more importantly Julia Child! Our take on a classic French dish. Chicken in red wine. We start with a creamy rich red wine sauce for the base. Slow cooked in house. Then it gets chicken, onions, mushrooms and bacon. Top that with Muenster cheese. After the oven it gets a parsley and tarragon garnish. Bon Appetit!"
This one is already long gone, and it won’t be back, according to Drew. He almost never repeats a pie, with the exception of the Saucy Hawg, which has come round twice, and might be coming back soon! The best way to keep up with Drew’s Pizza of the Month is to follow him on Instagram and/or Facebook.
CONGRATS TO WPVM: WPVM 103.7fm, the Voice of Asheville Braodcasting to the World, is the local public radio station that broadcasts out podcast to the local radio listeners in Asheville! They have recently obtained permission and approval to move their antenna to a better location, thanks to the building owners. The new, improved location is on the roof of the equipment room (above the elevator shaft).
This move was necessary as the previous location, while serving well for a good while, has been somewhat blocked to the north by the Cambria Hotel, completed in 2016, and the brick equipment building, affecting our signal to the south and west. With the move, we now sit atop that brick equipment building, and with the new location, the antenna will be 10-15 feet above the roof, which should significantly improve the signal reach and strength.
Congrats again, and a big thank you to WPVM 103.7fm for taking our humble podcast and turning it into a radio broadcast, now even easier to tune-in than ever!
MEET THE ASHEVILLE FOOD TOURS CREW: Asheville Food Tours is a small, locally owned, family run company!
PADDY & JENNIFER: Paddy is “The Boss” and the OG food tour guide in Asheville! He’s been doing it for over a decade, and he taught me & Sarah everything we know about how to put together and run a successful food tour. He’s cool, calm & collected under pressure, and always has the best interests of the patrons and restaurant partners in mind. He’s mostly behind the scenes now, making sure the company runs, scheduling private tours, doing customer service, and a ton of other stuff. Without Paddy there would be no Asheville Food Tours!
Jennifer does our social media and she really captures the spirit of the Asheville Food Tours with her homey, family oriented, local, small business supporting posts! She really understands where we’re coming from as a company, plus she knows what “reels” are and how to make them, so we absolutely love that about her! We also love her because she’s awesome & she’s Paddy’s wife! Together, Paddy & Jennifer keep our company operating from the office, while the guides are in the field!
Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
SARAH: Sarah joined the Asheville Food Tours team last Fall, and has been crushing it ever since. In addition to being a great food tour guide, she is an artist, a baker, a jewelry maker, a podcaster, a student of history, and she was once a magician’s assistant! Sarah is a native of Asheville, loves our food scene, and has a wealth of information about our city and the surrounding areas to share!
Sarah leads tours four days a week, including our famous Brunch Tour on Saturdays! Sign-up to take a tour with Sarah HERE.
STU: And you know me. I’m Stu. I moved to Asheville in 2005 and began writing about food in 2013. I got my first big break when Jason Sandford gave my reviews a chance on Ashvegas.com, and have since appeared on the Food Network, the Travel Channel, CNN and WLOS, and I currently have 18,000+ social media followers. I started working for Asheville Food Tours in 2016, and there’s nothing I love more than showing off the city I live in and the food scene I love!
I lead tours on Sundays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays and I am available for private tours as well. Please book a tour with me HERE.
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Episode 155: Talkin' 'Bout the BID