Sly Grog Lounge — Restaurant in Asheville

Sly Grog is not just a bar or a music venue. It is a welcoming community of beautiful weirdos, united under the banner of art and self-expression. It’s one of the last vestiges of Asheville’s creative spirit still standing amidst the last decade of overfunded tourism and gentrification - which have all but transformed this town into a glittering, hollow shell of its former self. The people leaving bad reviews are mostly folks whose presence here directly contributes to that downfall. Those people who are keeping them up, screaming at all hours of the night, are actually just the population of struggling houseless folks who congregate nearby for resources - many of whom were directly displaced by those complaining about them. May their cries continue disrupt the sleep of those entitled enough to ignore them.

Living in downtown Asheville was still relatively accessible, not that long ago. However it was known that if you chose to do so, you should expect it to be noisy, and your lifestyle should reflect a consideration for that. I myself lived downtown for years. I shared a small house with a partner and two housemates. Our rent was $750/mo. for the whole house. We were all musicians and often made tons of noise until the wee hours of the morning, and we never had a single noise complaint. Now that house is an Airbnb, like many houses in the area.

Nowadays most people who live downtown pay 3x that amount for a one bedroom apartment, and most of them only moved here within the last 4-5 years, during which time the average rent prices more than doubled. It’s not their fault for wanting to live in Asheville. I don’t blame them. But this town wasn’t always suited for folks like that, and by terraforming it to suit their needs, with strict noise ordinances and convenient new developments, they have inadvertently gutted this town if so much of its magic.

If anyone is to blame, it’s most certainly the Asheville Tourism Development Authority, who spend tens of millions every year on targeted advertising to dangle the dream of living in a beautiful mountain town before the eyes of ignorant tourists who can afford the exorbitant prices - which were not so exorbitant before the TDA blew up our spot by attracting big developers and real estate investors, who bought up properties like crazy, crippling the housing market and displacing the wonderful people who once made this town what it was. Sly Grog represents what little remains of that community.

Long live Sly Grog. Long live Asheville....

Had two shots of vodka between 9:30 p and 1:30 a. Staff friendly and polite. All DJs masters of their kraft, especially headliner Vampa. Obvious they enjoy what they did. Stayed a little after end waiting for my ride while crew packed up gear - noone said a rude word to me or anyone else. Crew was polite and respectful to each other despite it had been a l9ng night. Acoustics awesome, I could feel the beat through my ribcage fron both speakers - I stood by each one during different parrs of the night Bathrooms clean and easy to spit Vendors polite. Staff and security actively vigilant when two people got a little too close and emotional when forgetting that there were others to not get romantic with someone else's partner. Security asked politely but firmly the right person to go home and cool down. Other staff made certain people were enjoying their time. Other dancers hyped up in music respectful of each other bur jovial when some, including me, decided to do a circle dance around permiter of stage. Prices goid for shot of vodka and bar staff polite even when spilled drink by accident on counter of bar when picking up. Recycling bins in close proximity and most people put their empty cans in the trash. 4 Electrical receptacles at side of danceflloor so I could charge my phone. outside seating about area 150% of dance floor near enough to...

This is the greatest bar in the history of the world. Period. It has everything! Full bar, arcade and console games, awesome stage, grand piano, pool table, ping pong table, tons of couches in the outdoorish hangar area and about a hundred disembodied doll heads everywhere and the Staff is unbelievably friendly and kind.

Make sure to visit Foxy & Co, the attached shop that sells vintage clothing and artwork from local artists. They also repair musical instruments and has a fantastic circuit bending collection. You can even bring in your own synths and have the techs level it up.

Sly Grog is the kind of establishment that is welcoming to dang near everybody with a low tolerance for hate of any kind. This place is so important to me, to have a place of this caliber that I always feel welcome- it's just amazing. The regulars are about as kind as they come too. Aaand there's always a rad event happening at any time.

Honestly. This is my favorite hang spot in the entirety of...