Black Chefs Lead Asheville's Culinary Renaissance

A new generation of Black chefs and restaurateurs are reclaiming Asheville's food culture after urban renewal projects decimated the city's historic Black-owned businesses.

Mar. 31, 2026 at 4:20pm

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A brightly colored, high-contrast silkscreen print of a single, iconic Affrilachian cuisine object such as a cornbread muffin or collard greens, repeated in a tight grid pattern, conceptually representing the resurgence of Black culinary culture in Asheville.A vibrant celebration of the Affrilachian culinary traditions reclaiming Asheville's food scene.Asheville Today

In Asheville, North Carolina, a culinary renaissance led by Black chefs is underway, with establishments like Good Hot Fish, Sistas on Montford, and Capella on 9 showcasing Affrilachian cuisine and honoring the city's rich Black food traditions. These chefs are reclaiming their culinary heritage after urban renewal projects in the mid-20th century destroyed thriving Black-owned business districts and displaced half of Asheville's Black population.

Why it matters

Asheville has long been celebrated for its vibrant food scene, but it has historically been dominated by white ownership and leadership. The emergence of these Black-owned restaurants and the chefs behind them represents an important cultural reclamation, as they work to revive and celebrate the city's lost Black culinary legacy.

The details

Chefs like Ashleigh Shanti of Good Hot Fish, the Wynn family behind Sistas on Montford, and Rakim Gaines of Capella on 9 are all incorporating elements of their family's soul food traditions and Affrilachian (Black Appalachian) cuisine into their menus. They are using techniques like foraging, curing, and pickling to highlight local ingredients and heritage cooking practices. These chefs are not only serving delicious food, but also telling the story of Asheville's once-thriving Black food culture that was devastated by urban renewal.

  • In the mid-20th century, the East Riverside Urban Renewal Project destroyed more than 1,000 Black-owned homes and businesses in Asheville's Southside neighborhood, forcing the relocation of half the city's Black population.
  • In 2001, Margaret 'Sista' Harrison was forced to close her 30-year-old restaurant, The New Ritz Cafe, due to rising rents.
  • In 2022, Sista's daughter and granddaughter, Rhonda and Khiyara Wynn, opened Sistas on Montford to honor their matriarch's legacy.

The players

Ashleigh Shanti

Chef and owner of Good Hot Fish, a counter-service fish fry restaurant in Asheville that showcases Affrilachian cuisine.

Rhonda and Khiyara Wynn

Mother-daughter duo who recently opened Sistas on Montford, a takeout restaurant honoring their grandmother, Margaret 'Sista' Harrison, whose previous restaurant was forced to close due to urban renewal.

Rakim Gaines

Executive chef at Capella on 9, a rooftop restaurant and bar in downtown Asheville, where he incorporates his soul food roots into the Spanish tapas-inspired menu.

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What they’re saying

“This is a very big deal for us. The area where my grandmother's restaurant was located and where we've opened was all predominantly Black. Now, not so much. It's also a huge deal because there aren't many spaces that cater to authentic Black food in Asheville.”

— Khiyara Wynn, Co-owner, Sistas on Montford

“I always recommend the short rib here. We braise it for about 3.5 hours in Spanish red wine, but I also threw some pepperoncinis in there, so it's like a Mississippi pot roast because that's what I grew up on.”

— Rakim Gaines, Executive Chef, Capella on 9

“The small uptick that I've seen in my eight years in Asheville is just, to me, a necessary progression when you look at the amount of Black-owned restaurants Asheville possessed historically. After experiencing erasure, there typically becomes a deep desire to leave a legacy, and the resurgence of Black-owned businesses has a lot to do with that.”

— Ashleigh Shanti, Chef and Owner, Good Hot Fish

The takeaway

The emergence of these Black-owned restaurants and the chefs behind them represents an important cultural reclamation in Asheville, as they work to revive and celebrate the city's lost Black culinary legacy that was decimated by mid-20th century urban renewal projects.