Asheville, NC | 4,800 SF | Commercial  

Asheville’s “South Slope” is becoming a destination for craft spirit enthusiasts from across the country, and we are excited to be contributing to its development. In 2015, we were commissioned by The Apothecary Beverage Company to transform an existing one-story auto repair shop on Coxe Avenue into The Chemist, a prohibition-era inspired craft gin distillery and tasting room. On the same site, we designed a new building, Antidote, a cocktail lounge with a main level bar, mezzanine level seating area, and an upper level bar with seating area opening onto a roof deck. 

As part of our design process, we solicited and incorporated feedback from the local South Slope Neighborhood Association. We also helped our client navigate the review process with the City of Asheville, which required submittals for Grading, Stormwater, Zoning, Building Safety and Water Department approvals. 

We connected the distillery and cocktail lounge to the urban streetscape with an outdoor dining courtyard and unified the two buildings with carefully-detailed brick façades, riveted metal work, awnings, generously-sized windows, and salvaged woodwork. Welcoming booths, nooks, bars and hearths invite people to gather, both indoors and out, on the increasingly vibrant “South Slope” of Coxe Avenue.