BERADU Specialty Market & Restaurant — Restaurant in Black Mountain

[newly employed here]: so you can weigh my review with all the bias it may entail ... (albeit with my 20+ years experience in the restaurant biz) ...

I've worked for some very fine restaurateurs, and some not-so-very fine restaurateurs ~ with some great chefs, & a few total hacks.

And I'm here to tell you: Jimmy & Denise [the owners of the Artisan] are on point with everything they do!

[at this stage in my life, I won't just work for "anyone"] Prior to my employment here, I had indeed visited the Artisan (as a customer) on sporadic occasions ~ and maybe once found the service to be less than ultimately satisfactory.

(I don't, however, see the face of that particular gal working around me now).

The restaurant business is a unique animal ~ and as far as staffing goes; it is often like betting on a horse. But, as I walk into things right now, I see a great staff surrounding me. A great atmosphere. Delightful regular customers. And quality, consistent presentation of some great food!

Jimmy's Thursday Night Dinners are "par excellence!" ~ exceptionally-talented chef that he is!

[and no restaurant can fake a sanitation rating of 99.5 A around this competitive & sticklish, greater metropolis of fine cuisine surrounding Asheville, NC] ~ just sayin'. I am thrilled to be on board with such a fine-quality establishment, with true talent, and a solid business model. As Denise & Jimmy continue to ratchet-up the quality of their [relatively new ownership] of this business, on a daily basis, it's only gonna' get better! ~ and it's already...

My wife and I made the decision to stop at Artisan Gourmet Market for lunch after an outing just outside Black Mountain. We placed a relatively simple order on what didn't seem like a very busy day for the kitchen - 1 1/2 sandwiches and 1/2 soup. To our surprise, 20 minutes later, it wasn't ready (and there were 3 sets of hands in the kitchen and 1 behind the counter) and our 9 month old was getting antsy so we asked for an update. The team said they were on it so we waited patiently for another 10 minutes and it still wasn't ready so we told them we wanted a refund. At that point, our order came out of that kitchen and when we checked it, one of the two sandwiches in the bag wasn't even on our order. Rather than apologize for the wait, the supervisor seemed a bit annoyed at us and proceeded to refund us for just the 1/2 sandwich. Normally, I wouldn't complain about something like this but the staff wasn't even apologetic (actually, the teenager behind the counter was and would recommend any business hire him). We'll likely be back visiting Black Mountain but won't make the stop at The Artisan...

Great place that needs to reduce the waste. When I ordered some food and a breve drink, I was asked if it was for here or to go. I said here. My drink was served in a disposable to go cup. I asked for one of the many nice ceramic mugs they have behind the counter. I poured my drink into this more appealing container. I then noticed that there were 10 other disposable cups being used by 8 people in the cafe. They were all enjoying food "for here" and had been served their cold and hot drinks (even water) in disposable cups. I doubt these are being recycled, since the establishment offers only a trash can. I know some folks may end up wanting to leave with their coffee, but my visit showed 10 out of 11 cups being used there, once, and thrown in the trash (I will compost ot recycle mine). This is not local/environmentally conscious and friendly. I don't think some extra dishes would be a big deal compared to this landfill addition. As I said, great place with some good...