Should a time traveler from the 1930s land at the corner of Spruce Street and Court Plaza in downtown Asheville, they might not at first realize they’ve been shot 90 years into the future. The exterior of the two-story brick building with large street-level plate glass windows hardly seems changed from when it was built in 1907 by a local lumber and supply company (the attached structure was added in 1912). A yellow 1932 Model B Ford pick-up truck is parked right out front.

Inside, the bead-board ceilings, vintage light fixtures, creaky wooden floors and rough-hewn support beams maintain the blast from the past ambience, which was exactly what Stewart Coleman intended when he opened Pack’s Tavern in 2010. The Asheville native and community leader wanted to pay tribute to the building’s more notorious – and secretive – purpose during Prohibition. Legend has it that the lumber business was a front for the major moonshine distribution hub operating from the basement for about 12 years.

When the 21st Amendment repealing the ban on alcohol was passed in 1933, the undercover operation reverted to its more mundane purpose of storage, and the upper floors segued through various owners and industries, none of them illegal.

Stewart Coleman was deeply embedded in Asheville – as a successful builder, developer, preservationist, philanthropist, leader and volunteer. In 2010, he purchased the Hayes & Hopson building, restoring it so meticulously it received a prestigious Griffin Award from The Preservation Society of Asheville.

There is no shortage of alcohol, food, smiles and service in one of Asheville’s most unique and popular restaurants, and though Coleman passed away in 2012, his daughters Whitney Coleman Israel and Amanda Coleman Franklin still own it and their husbands – Tom Israel and Ross Franklin — run it, supported by a staff of about 100.

Most importantly, says assistant general manager Erika Marler, the influence and spirit of Stewart Coleman lives on. Erika was one of the opening employees of Pack’s Tavern, starting as a server. “I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Coleman,” she says. “He was the most giving person you’d ever know and would do anything for anybody.”

After eight and a half years of waiting tables, Erika took a break to pursue other options, but was persuaded a couple years ago to come back in a management and administrative role. (Ian DeWitt is the other assistant GM and Tyler Brown is GM.)

She was pleased to find that Coleman’s presence remained. “When we hire people, our goal is to instill the Stewart Way – being generous, kind, treating everyone like family – co-workers and guests. We want everyone’s experience here to be positive and memorable.”

Testament to the success of that mission is the full house – nearly 250 seats between the north bar, south bar and covered patio – seven days a week, from 11am to 10pm Sunday through Thursday, until 11pm Friday and Saturday.

Aside from the historic building, the lure includes multiple televisions for sports fans, over 30 beers (a majority local) on tap and a very large menu, though not as big as during Erika’s serving days. “I found an old menu the other day and it was huge,” she says with a laugh. “You try a lot of things in the beginning and then you stick with what works best.”

Leading the Greatest Hits list are the tavern pretzels and beer cheese; fried pickle chips; breaded wings with house-made sauces; Buck’s famous double smashburger; wood-fired oven pizza; and the blackened chicken pasta. “The pasta was one of the items we took off the menu after Helene as the kitchen was cutting back and making adjustments,“ Erika says.  “People were mad about it, and very happy when we brought it back.”

The busiest day of the year, since year one, is Thanksgiving, when Pack’s Tavern serves an all-day, all-you can-eat Thanksgiving buffet. The spread includes salad, roast turkey, glazed ham, mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing, gravy, whipped sweet potatoes, collard greens, green bean casserole, whole berry cranberry sauce, yeast rolls, and of course, pie.

“Thanksgiving at Pack’s is just like the biggest family dinner ever,” Erika says. “We see regulars and tourists looking for a place to call home for the holiday. It’s just part of the family culture here and keeping that Stewart spirit going. Hopefully, he is proud of us.”

FUN PACK’S FACTS

• For 15 years, Pack’s staff has fed the meter where the truck is parked every two hours.
• Pack’s also feeds their neighbors – headquarters for the Asheville Fire Department and Asheville Police Department are just one block away.
• Part of Asheville’s mysterious underground tunnel system connects to a door in the Pack’s basement, and if asked, management will take diners for a look.
• A tray of Pack’s most popular menu item – the BBQ brisket mac-n-cheese – and Pack’s former marketing director, Mary Evans, helped kick-start Asheville’s Food Connection nonprofit, co-founded in 2014 by Evans and Flori Pate.
• Pack’s opened reservations for Thanksgiving dinner on October 1, and within a week, received over 400.
• They capped reservations at 1010 but keep a sizable number of seats for walk-in guests.
• Turkeys for Thanksgiving are ordered in February, and cooking starts the week before, going round the clock some days. Everything is made in house.
• They roast 50 turkeys, peel, cook and mash 600 pounds of potatoes and bake 2000 yeast rolls.

More about Pack’s Tavern.

— Written by Kay West

— AIRfare is sponsored by McGuire Wood & Bissette

Photos courtesy of Pack’s Tavern
First photo: Pack’s ribbon cutting in 2010 with Stewart Coleman, former Mayor Terry Bellamy and former County Commission Carol Peterson
Second photo: Pack’s most popular starter, pretzels with beer cheese
Third photo: Pack’s 1932 Model B Ford pickup