Business

Ask Matt ... about new restaurants

Horse Shoe Farm owner John Turchin plans to open the Crossroads restaurant this summer. [MATT MATTESON/Hendersonville Lightning]

By Matt Matteson, Published: February 1, 2021

Q. What’s going into the old Fidelia's Restaurant building on U.S. 64 West next to Briggs Garden Center? It has been so many different things over the years.

Another restaurant is in the works. Old timers may remember some of the former restaurant names such as Horse Shoe Restaurant, Jerry Orr’s Restaurant, The Hungry Bear, and most recently, Fidelia’s which closed in the summer of 2019. The building at 4165 Brevard Road has also been home to a hardware store, gas station, gun shop, shoe store and antique shop. The new restaurateur is John Turchin, who owns Horse Shoe Farm, an upscale country resort less than a mile away on South Rugby Road.
“We are going to bring the building back to its original look,” said Turchin. “We are peeling back the unattractive additions to reveal more of the original stonework.” The plan is to have two indoor dining rooms, one of which will overlook the proposed Ecusta Trail corridor. The restaurant will also have an outdoor dining area with a grill and pizza oven.
“This is an oasis, a watering hole, but not another brew pub,” said Turchin, who plans to open this summer after finding operators for the restaurant and retail businesses. He hopes to capitalize on the 212 feet of frontage on the proposed rail trail and include a bike shop in the building. Turchin aptly named his restaurant The Crossroads. “If we build a nice place and add good food we can make it work and people will come,” he said.
In September of 2014, the Lightning reported how the Swamp Rabbit Trail had been a shot in the arm for the Travelers Rest community in the South Carolina Upstate. It should come as no surprise that the Horse Shoe property, and certainly other similar sites along the 19-mile Hendersonville to Brevard Ecusta Trail corridor, will benefit economically from a rail trail.

Q. What can you tell us about the new Mexican restaurant going into the Horse Shoe Crossing shopping plaza?

For starters it’s going to be the third Mexican eatery in a seven-mile stretch between Laurel Park and Etowah (fourth if you count Tex-Mex food). “We will serve traditional Mexican food that should be enjoyed by many,” said Francis Torres who will manage the restaurant and is aware but undaunted about the competition. “We will also serve alcoholic beverages,” she said. The restaurant, named Taco Fiesta Mexican Kitchen will open later this month with hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Torres is in partnership with Omar Macias who owns Ay Caramba, a Mexican restaurant in East Asheville. If the phrase “ay caramba” sounds familiar it may be because Bart Simpson uses it frequently. Bart is not bilingual, of course.

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