Booneshine Brewing Company — Restaurant in Boone

Craft brewery/restaurant with good beer, average food and nice facility.

Booneshine is a craft brewery on the periphery of Boone, NC. For a craft brewery, they have a significant amount of real estate. The tasting room/bar/restaurant and the grounds are expansive. The main building is quite nice; though, in my opinion they did not take full advantage of the natural beauty of the mountains. The interior is a bit dark/closed in, and the patio simply faces the large gravel parking lot (which is typically full of cars). Facility aesthetics aside, they are putting out some excellent beer which is probably the main point of a brewery. I particularly enjoy some of their darker offerings like the coffee porter and oatmeal stout. They also have incorporated a full-service restaurant into their operation. This is a bit unusual for craft breweries since they typically don’t have an on-site restaurant because of the increased licensing requirements; relying instead on food trucks. I think that the food is average at best. While some of the menu items are somewhat creative and have potential, I think that the menu is too large. Given the labor pool for line cooks and the customer demographic, I’d cull the menu down to fewer items, and then execute those items really well. The other food oddity is the food truck parked outside the main building. Is this part of the brewery? Or is the brewery restaurant competing with them??? I don’t really understand. It expands the food choices, but it muddies whatever the theme is supposed to be. My advice to the owner is to do a better job with your in-house food, or jettison the food and bring in rotational food trucks. The front-of-the-house is competent and attentive to customer needs. Overall a decent experience, go for the beer, have a snack, eat...

Great food, great beer. No one talks about the way the staff work here, always funny to me. From the blatant disrespect from management joining into high school level drama, to the underpayment of employees. As a 9 year server I have never seen a restaurant disrespect their employees more. This is a tip pool place, essentially meaning that employees that make $300 in tips see a very minimal amount of what they actually make, which causes their drive to go down because they see no way of challenging themselves or any way to make more money than they already do. The environment is a clique style where a certain portion of the staff are treated well while the rest get grilled for every mistake. The constant swirl of rumors and disrespectful talking that the "prime" employees take part in is disgusting. As much as I want to support this business, l've heard too much to want to. Instead of trying to "silently fire staff" maybe look deeper. OSHA wouldn't be proud if I say so myself. They follow protocols not because they want to but because they have to. Just ask allycat, the creator of Booneshine's legendary "east boone" mural on the back wall. So many double standards and unhealthy practices. Boone decided to ignore their antics, maybe it's time to take a deeper look into the unfair and double standard way they run a business, this is a glass house and all it takes it one...

I was really disappointed in my visit. I've had Booneshine's beer before and wasn't displeased. This time I had a flight of 4 and was underwhelmed by all of them. I didn't even drink half of 2 of them. But what bothered me most was the food menu. First is, it was pretty pricey. That's not a problem, if the food hold up, but it didn't. $12 for a 6oz burger with lettuce, tomato, and onion? No thanks. I thought about getting a chicken sandwich, but $12 for a sandwich made from a chicken thigh? Seriously? Your charging breast price for a thigh? I opted to spend a dollar more and got the beyond burger. It wasn't bad, but the gluten free bun I had to get (allergies) was an absolutely wonderful sponge and horrible bread. Then on top of that, the French fries are lightly battered for that extra crispiness. Thanks for the heads-up. I would have rather just grabbed a salad and not bothered, but there salad option were either a sad iceberg wedge (still can't believe people actually pay for that) or an outrageously odd 'warmed mixed grains' salad. No clue what that is but sounds like something else that's needlessly covered in wheat. I will not be dining there again. Ever. I also won't be jumping after the beer either. If they put as much effort into the quality of their products as they do into making an atmosphere, maybe I would have...