Answer Woman: What's the new restaurant on Hendersonville Road?
ASHEVILLE - A reader is hungry for information about a new restaurant in South Asheville. Have other questions for our staff? Email Executive Editor Karen Chávez at [email protected] and your question could appear in an upcoming column.
Question: Margarita’s Grill closed at 1996 Hendersonville Road. What restaurant took its place?
Answer: South Paw at 1996 Hendersonville Road is a veteran restaurateur’s latest endeavor, delivering more food options and late-night dining to South Asheville.
Dan Loehr, a New York City native who studied hotel and restaurant management at the University of South Carolina, owned Sapphire Bar and Grill and Shenanigans Sports Bar in the U.S. Virgin Islands where he lived for seven years.
He and his family lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, briefly, and moved to Asheville nearly four years ago, which appealed to the Loehrs for its nature and outdoor activities, food and brewery scene and mild winters.
After a six-year hiatus from the restaurant management business, Loehr sought real estate where he could introduce a different dining concept in Asheville.
After Margarita’s Grill, which served authentic and contemporary, scratch-made Mexican cuisine, opened last September and closed the following November, Loehr seized the opportunity to claim the space and open a new restaurant in his neighborhood.
Loehr said South Paw, which opened on April 26, differs from his two previous establishments.
“They were more hangout bars and grills, which we are, too, but we’ve elevated ourselves a little bit for the region we’re in. There’s more of a call for it here,” he said.
“South Paw” refers to a name used for lefthanded people, a nod to Loehr being ambidextrous and his son being lefthanded. The bear logo adds to the paw-themed branding.
Loehr designed South Paw as an upscale, casual restaurant that welcomes those seeking a hearty meal or desiring to watch a game on TV while enjoying a drink at the bar.
Chef Billy Green, formerly of Early Girl Eatery, curated a New American cuisine line-up that features appetizers, sandwiches, entrées like steak, scallops and prime rib, and a series of signature and custom-made smash burgers on the extensive menu.
Bestselling dishes include:
Chef Billy’s Brussels. Pan-seared Brussels sprouts that are lightly charred, tossed with honey lemon vinaigrette and rendered bacon. It’s served with a sunnyside-up egg on top.
Smoked trout dip. Local rainbow trout topped with toasted walnuts and served with toast points, pickled onions, cherry tomatoes, fennel and arugula tossed in a lemon vinaigrette.
Philly cheesesteak. In-house thinly sliced ribeye grilled with caramelized onions, bell pepper and a house-made cheese sauce and served on a hoagie roll.
Vegan tempeh. Loehr, who’s not vegan, said Chef Green won him over with the vegan tempeh, which is brined, baked and pan-seared. It’s finished with mushrooms, peppers, toasted walnuts and pineapple, and a signature sweet and spicy rum sauce, and served over a bed of vegan risotto.
David Gulino, bar manager, crafted the cocktail menu, which features classic and signature recipes and in-house made additions like the infused vodkas. The Mad Hatter is made with Earl Grey-infused vodka, lemon, blackberry jam and soda.
Loehr worked at Biltmore Winery where he said he gained a higher appreciation for wine, which motivated South Paw’s carefully curated wine list.
Local and domestic beers, cider and hard iced tea are available on draft, bottled and canned. Five televisions are scattered around the restaurant’s two dining rooms and bar broadcasting sporting events. South Paw’s hours are 4 p.m.-midnight with a limited menu offered after 10 p.m. and the kitchen open until 11 p.m.
“That’s another thing this area doesn’t have a lot of ― good food past nine o’clock, so we’re hoping to get into that market,” Loehr said.
As for Margarita’s Grill, the future of the restaurant is unknown as there have been no recent posts on the business’s social media page and the owners could not be reached for comment before this column was published.
View South Paw’s full menu at southpawavl.com and follow the restaurant on Facebook.
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: South Paw restaurant, bar makes its South Asheville debut: On the menu
