On Wednesday, Asheville Brewing + The Orange Peel announced that they’ll be 50/50 partners of 75 Coxe Ave., a former Wells Fargo drive-through + parking lot beside Asheville Brewing’s location at 77 Coxe Ave. The new venue is set to start hosting events in the early spring.
According to the official announcement, the 1.25-acre space will host events every night of the week, including –
- Large + more intimate outdoor shows in the warmer months (with capacity for over 3,000 people), with a stage that will back up to Ashland Ave. It will be the biggest outdoor venue in Asheville for live concerts when it’s complete. The Orange Peel will handle concert management.
- Al fresco movies
- Weekend kid- and family-friendly programming
- Non-profit and community events with a local focus, like “Shakespeare on the Slope”
Here’s the background – Asheville Brewing purchased the site back in June, with plans to use it for special event space, extra parking + more. They were also considering creating an urban parklet and area for games like cornhole. The team is planning minimal construction to rework what’s already on the property. The bank building will remain and become a concession stand and parking medians will be removed to create a more open space.
Both Asheville Brewing + The Peel are locally owned, and both are longtime players in the Asheville entertainment scene – they’ve been open for a total of 38 years combined. The Orange Peel opened in its current iteration in 2002, and has been hosting outdoor shows at locations like Highland Brewing for years through various partnerships. Asheville Brewing opened its first location (when it took over Two Moons Brew and View, Asheville’s third-ever brewery) on Merrimon Ave. in 1998.
