Chestnut

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Restaurant Built on Friendship and Craft

Chestnut opened in 2012 as the second venture from co-owners Joe Scully and Kevin Westmoreland, who had already established themselves with Corner Kitchen in Historic Biltmore Village eight years earlier. The two met when their sons joined the same local YMCA program, and their friendship gradually became a business partnership. When the right space appeared at 48 Biltmore Avenue, they moved forward — deliberately, and with clear intent.

The philosophy they brought to Chestnut is straightforward: classics done right, with a touch of cutting edge. "It's not what you do, but how you do it." That means house-cured meats, scratch-made lobster bisque finished with Troy and Sons Oak Reserve, hand-cut French fries, pickled vegetables made in-house, and all desserts — including sorbet and ice cream — produced on the premises.

The Kitchen and the People Behind It

Executive Chef Brian Crow, a western North Carolina native who grew up in Brevard, shaped much of what Chestnut is today. Crow — whose cooking was influenced by stints in Chicago, Denver, and San Diego, as well as travel through Latin America — introduced the monthly dinner menu rotation, a format that keeps the kitchen creative and gives front-of-house staff something genuinely new to talk about each month. A staff tasting of the upcoming menu happens a couple of days before it launches, a small ritual that reflects the restaurant's investment in its team.

Pastry Chef Amanda Mathosian, who trained under a James Beard-nominated French chef and completed an externship in Florence, brings the same precision to the sweet side of the menu. Her approach — minimal ingredients used to their full capacity, seasonal produce, local sourcing — mirrors the broader ethos of the kitchen.

The wine program, overseen by Renee Childers, earned Chestnut a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, recognition that reflects the care given to pairing American cuisine with a thoughtfully curated list.

Local Sourcing as a Genuine Commitment

Chestnut's relationships with local producers are extensive and specific. The restaurant works with farms and makers including Hickory Nut Gap Farms, Sunburst Trout Farms, Brasstown Beef, Looking Glass Creamery, Haw Creek Honey, and dozens more across Western North Carolina. A rotating selection of local craft beers — from Highland, Wicked Weed, Pisgah, and others — rounds out the drinks program.

The menu itself shifts monthly for dinner, with a few anchor items — Calamari & Kale Salad, charcuterie, and the Scratch-Made Lobster Bisque — holding steady while the rest rotates with the seasons. "Medium Plates," a format introduced to give guests more variety without oversized portions, remain a signature feature of the dinner service.

Community at the Core

Westmoreland & Scully runs a quarterly "Sweets for a Cause" program, donating a portion of dessert sales to local nonprofits — past recipients include Manna FoodBank, Pisgah Legal Services, and BeLoved Asheville. The company's composting program, started in 2005, became a model for other independent restaurants in the city. These aren't afterthoughts; they're baked into how the business operates.

Brunch runs daily and dinner is served nightly, right in the heart of downtown Asheville.