THE BLUE BANNER
I
New eatery opens, gives different twist to local scene
Dough’s Brian Ross shares about first days
Moisey Cooley
Dough opened to the public on Feb. 12.
Photo by Maisey Cooley - A&F Editor
Photo by Emily Honeycutt - Asst. A&F Editor
Brian Ross is the owner and head chef of Dough.
mdcooley@unca.edu - A&F Editor
Brian Ross nodded, leaned back in his chair
and placed his hands behind his head in a re
laxed fashion.
“I had enough of the corporate life,” he said.
Ross, owner and head chef of Dough, a new
marketplace and eatery on Merrimon Avenue,
opened the doors on Feb. 12 to a crowd that
packed the establishment from open to close.
“I was here until 2:30 the night before we
opened,” Ross said. “Then I came back at 6:30
in the morning and worked all day, until 9:30.
It was nonstop.”
Ross worked as the director of food and bev
erage at the Biltmore Estate before he decided
to break away from the corporate world and
start his own local eatery.
Although Dough sits outside the downtown
limits, the establishment exists for the North
Asheville community almost exclusively.
“This is my neighborhood,” Ross said. “1
live basically right next door. I have two young
kids, 7 and 9.1 know the people in this com
munity, which are who this place is for. It’s for
my neighbors.”
Ross’s attitude toward corporations inspired
him to create a place where locals could come
and order a personal pizza, cup of tomato
bisque, craft soda or sit and chat at one of the
new, shiny tables with a few friends. His dream
reflects what many Asheville business owners
desire - a town without chain establishments.
Locals of Asheville recall the uproar caused
by the arrival of retail store Urban Outfit
ters on Haywood Road, right in the center of
downtown Asheville. Internationally known,
the Urban Outfitters company owns more than
400 retail stores across nine different coun
tries, according to their website, urbanoutfit-
ters.com.
Urban Outfitters’ arrival generated mixed
feelings toward the company, the city and its
attitude toward large businesses.
Tara Spencer, a 20-year-old junior at the
University of North Carolina Eshelman
School of Pharmacy, Asheville campus,
and former employee of Urban Outfitters
in Durham, said she feels positively toward
the introduction of a large company into the
downtown scene.
“I think repurposing the CVS space into a
hip, popular store actually helps our down
town,” Spencer said. “I would say that in gen
eral, the audience that Urban Outfitters attracts
would also appreciate local efforts and aims.
I also think it would be wrong to say that if
someone visits the store, they’re not going to
go next door for a cup of coffee or to one of
our art galleries. If you aren’t a local. Urban
Outfitters could be a familiar face that might
bring you downtown to search for more. Over-
"I know the people
in this community,
which are who
this place is for"
Brian Ross
Dough owner and head chef
all, I think that Urban Outfitters just gives our
already dynamic downtown a little push.”
Asheville welcomes large businesses into
the city limits, as stated by Meghan Rogers,
the membership and marketing manager
for the Asheville Downtown Association.
“The city does not have any ordinances or
permits against big business in Asheville,”
Rogers said. “But we are certainly a commu
nity that works to support local businesses.”
The Asheville Downtown Association is
similar to a chamber of commerce, according
to Rogers. They plan large-scale events for the
downtown community, such as Downtown Af
ter Five, Oktoberfest, the Asheville Holiday
Parade and other family-friendly events.
Today, large businesses in Asheville do not
dominate the skyline, even though the streets
now include Kilwin’s, Subway, BB&T, Bilt
more, Jimmy John’s and a Starbucks just out
side the downtown limits on Charlotte Street.
With his previous experience in the corpo
rate world, Ross now works in the kitchen at
Dough, donning a baseball hat and rumpled
apron instead of a full suit.
“It’s nice to do what you want to do, and
without confines,” Ross said, rolling his eyes
and smiling.
Dough’s location on Merrimon Avenue re
flects his values as a community member, as
he said he chose the location strategically.
“If we had started downtown, we wouldn’t
have as much of this community we have,”
Ross said. “Downtown has its own commu
nity too, but this area around here - Kimberly,
Grove Park, Montford, Beaver Lake - it’s a
very community-based place. My whole idea
was to try and do something different.”
Looking out the windows that face Merri
mon Avenue, Ross laughed to himself about
the giant, red dancing balloon man his brother
rented for Dough’s grand opening.
“It doesn’t seem very Asheville,” he said.
“But it’s pretty funny.”
He walked back into the main retail shop and
dining area, checking in with employees and
customers and answering endless questions
about food shipments and chair orders, seem
ing happy he had built a place like Dough.