ASHEVILLE -Dining rooms are filling up across the city as summer tourism season begins in what may be a blessing for the businesses but a nuisance for guests left waiting to get in.
“Historically, the Memorial Day weekend sort of kicks off the summer tourist season so, Saturday, Sunday and Monday we usually see bigger than normal crowds,” said Mary Evans, spokesperson for Pack’s Tavern in downtown Asheville.
Vanessa Salomo, chief operating officer of Chestnut and Corner Kitchen, is “optimistic” about the summer tourism season. Reservation and walk-in guests are already on the rise at Chestnut downtown and Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Village, she said.
“It’s my understanding, from hoteliers I know in the community, that occupancy is up and higher than it’s been in many years,” Salomo said in an email. “We are fortunate to have a solid local following, and they know to book in advance or call to get a seat.”
The Memorial Day weekend signals the beginning of summer, said Kathi Petersen, director of public information for Explore Asheville. Occupancy at hotels and vacation home rentals are indicators of tourist trends, and an uptick is expected each year during the holiday weekend.
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Peterson referred to a report from Smith Travel Research that showed nationwide hotel occupancy was at its height at 98.1% on the Saturday of the holiday weekend in 2019. In 2021, there was a 96% occupancy at hotels on Saturday.
Overall, the city is “experiencing a dramatic recovery” following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that dealt a devastating blow to the local economy, Peterson said. Although some industries are slower to return to normal pre-pandemic operations and revenue rates, food and beverage purveyors are among those meeting and often exceeding the benchmark year of 2019.
“We have seen that people are excited to be out traveling and going out again, so we are expecting a rebound to 2019 levels if not even better,” Evans said.
Customer volumes at Pack’s Tavern began to increase after the winter when the weather began to break, she said. Staffing shortage has been an issue many restaurants have been challenged with amid the pandemic, but Pack’s Tavern has a “solid team” and the planning to increase staff for busier times.
“We stay pretty busy on weekends anyway so I think our hope is that people will come to town with the expectation that there will be crowds, there will be waits, and to just try to relax and enjoy and understand that everybody in the restaurant business is doing the best they can to make sure everyone has a good experience,” Evans said.
Last year, Luella's Bar-B-Que reduced its business hours to a five-day schedule after Memorial Day weekend due to staffing issues at the South Asheville location, co-owner Jeff Miller said. Also, a few dishes were taken off the menu. Now, both the north and south restaurant locations are “pretty much back to full speed” with staffing and operations and are open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.
“I feel like we made it through,” Miller said.
Luella’s had higher sales revenue and customer volume in the week leading up to Memorial Day weekend compared to the week before, he said. However, it’s a growth that was seen well before.
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“Last year was a huge year —if you’ve done any amount of talking to restaurant owners — it was a big spike in business because of vaccinations and excitement, etc.,” Miller said. “It was an astronomical growth — more than most people expected, I think. Even said that, already this year we’re experiencing higher percent gross over last year.”
The weather is expected to be good for the holiday weekend, so Miller predicts Asheville will be “thriving.”
That means lines and wait times may be longer.
A few tips from restaurant leaders are to make reservations when possible, dine during non-peak hours and prepare to wait — patiently.
“Also, understand, 6:30-7 o’clock is the busiest time to try to eat, so if you can eat a little bit earlier or a little bit later, then that might cut down on the wait time,” Evans said.
Miller advises diners to show up when the doors open.
Also, takeout and delivery are options for avoiding dining room crowds. Although, if planning to order a meal,or dine at a restaurant for the holiday, make plans sooner than later.
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“For us, specifically, if people want to pick up food they should be calling and placing orders now because chances are we’ll be having to turn off our third-party apps – UberEats, etcetera – because the volume will be so huge on Saturday and Sunday,” Miller said.
Some restaurants, like Pack’s Tavern, don’t accept reservations but may offer waiting areas with access to a bar to help pass the time. Pack’s Tavern also has a text messaging system to alert customers, who are encouraged to walk around outside in the park or on downtown streets until their table is open.
“I would advise them to embrace the vibe of Asheville,” Evans said. “It’s a really laid-back, fun place to be. And just make sure they don’t have unreal expectations – that they do understand it will be crowded and there may be a wait at most restaurants downtown.”
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 Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
