Business

New restaurant coming to Flight space downtown

The former Flight space at 401 N. Main St. will open as Postero this summer.

By Bill Moss, Published: April 26, 2014

The old Flight restaurant property will reopen later this summer serving New American cuisine in a renovated space with a new bar.

Jason Reasoner and his wife, Stephanie, are overseeing a big construction project in the space now and shooting for an opening in mid July.
Reasoner, 41, has been cooking in Hendersonville for 10 years, with stops at Outback Steakhouse and Highland Lake Inn. He left his job as executive chef at Kenmure Country Club last month. "I've been working in the business since I was 14 years old," he said. "I started as a busboy and I've worked everything inside the restaurant."
The couple say they plan for their restaurant, called Postero, to be upscale without being stuffy.
The name "is Latin for next day," Reasoner said. "It's got an evolutionary connotation. I've been a busboy, a dishwasher, a server, a general manager and executive chef so this is my next step. Being a restaurateur is the next step for our family as a family-run business, which we're pretty excited about."
Stephanie has been a manager of Champion Hills for many years.
The restaurant will be open from "5 to whenever for dinner," Reasoner said. "We're going to play it by the market and see what the market dictates. Normal dinner service around Hendersonville usually starts to wind down around 9 o'clock. We'll keep the bar open for a couple of late people but we're not going to try to challenge the late night bars around here. That's not our style. We really want to present an experience, not really sell a lot of beer and shots."
He plans to serve farm to market as much as possible.
"What I'm looking to do is really get in touch with some of the local farmers and we'll go from there before we actually cost the menu out," he said. "At some point somebody took a deviation from that and said, 'You know, it's just easier if I buy it all from one big distributor.' That doesn't necessarily put the best product on the plate. That's what we're really after is putting the best product on the plate."
He is moving the bar to the windowed side of the main floor.
"It allows us to take advantage of those windows, which are great windows," he said. "Where you were currently seated you weren't able to directly use them because you were at eye level with the bottom of the window. By increasing the seating height at the windows you actually get full use of the windows. Generally speaking, when you're at a bar you're looking for a little entertainment. What better way than to enjoy the view of downtown Hendersonville."
Having his own kitchen fulfills a dream.
"I remember having fantasies about opening my own place as clear back as '89," he said. "I wasn't in the business very long when I just kind of knew this was what I was going to be. I found a real comfortable home for myself inside restaurants and I love it. That's who I am."
Sam Neill had operated Lark's and then Flight restaurant in the historic bank building before the now-imprisoned former attorney lost the property in a bankruptcy ruling to the original owner, TJF Enterprises. TJF Enterprises has leased the property to the Reasoners.