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A pos t on Crusco’s Instagram page on October 10 can be taken as a siren call to the three desserts pictured, or an advisory to diners to save room to try at least one.The Japanese cheesecake with pureed pumpkin and white chocolate strewn with roasted pumpkin seeds? Stewed North Carolina apples with bay leaf ice cream and a square of flaky pie crust? Or the chocolate pot de crème with orange and toasted nuts? The trio of delectables just recently made their smashing debut, adhering to ethos that drives nearly the entire menu – simple, seasonal and local. They were created by executive chef Lauren Macellaro, who modestly describes them as ‘easy stuff.’ “We don’t have a pastry chef, so I do the desserts,” she adds with a laugh, “but I have higher ambitions than my technical skills allow me. I have a handful of things I can do that I think work with seasonality.” After a couple nights of friends and family dinners, Crusco opened to the public on July 30, just in time for Lauren’s favorite season of vegetables – the end of summer and beginning of autumn. “Just when you’re getting sick of tomatoes and peppers – which I love! — new things start coming in. When our farmers talk about what they’re doing and what’s coming, and what’s already planted for next year, it’s really exciting. It also keeps things in perspective how temporary seasonal is, and all the work it takes to bring the best produce to us.” Crusco is vegetable forward, and the kitchen relies almost exclusively on two nearby farms to build the menu – Gaining Ground Farm in Leicester, owned and farmed by Anne and Aaron Grier, and The Culinary Gardener in Weaverville, owned and farmed by Evan Chender.
All were in the restaurant the morning of February 6 when Chender came by to make a delivery. They overheard Canipelli telling him about a sweet pepper the chef and Kat had come across during a trip to Calabrio, Italy and she recalls the conversation. “They were talking about what Evan would be growing for the summer and Brian always got excited about these obscure, random things. He was wanting Evan to grow this crusco pepper for him. In hindsight, that was a meaningful moment in time for all of us.” That night, the beloved chef suffered a fatal heart attack in the restaurant, and Cucina did not serve another meal. The tragedy grievously impacted the entire close-knit Asheville hospitality industry, none more so than the core four, particularly Kat. “After Brian died, we knew we couldn’t leave each other, we had been through so much together, and we knew we wanted to do something, but I was incapable at that time,” she says. “Lauren, Alex and Allen took the lead, looking at spaces, and by the time I was able to stand up again, they had culled it down to this spot.” The decision to claim the address on Depot Street was bittersweet. It was formerly Vivian, an intimate European-inspired bistro in the upper River Arts District owned by husband-and-wife team Shannon and Josiah McGaughey. Helene delivered significant financial challenges, and they made the hard decision to close. The Crusco team’s decision was based on both the practical – the size and that it was “theoretically turnkey” – as well as personal. “I worked at the Wedge in RAD for a long time, so I had history,” Kat explains. “We all liked the idea of being in a building that was home to a place that had been meaningful to Asheville, in a neighborhood that needed support post-Helene.” They took possession at the end of April and while major reconstruction and renovation were not required, they wanted it to be their own, so every public facing surface was touched in some way to create an entirely new aesthetic. The exterior and most interior walls are painted deep green, the ceilings are light sage, and cheerful marigold wallpaper is in part of the dining room, bar and restrooms. The RAD connection was further forged through the shelving behind the small, circular bar. “When I worked at the Wedge a million years ago, I became friends with the owners of Iron Maiden Studios, Kayla and Trina [Councell],” says Kat. “It felt right to ask artists who had a River Arts connection to be involved, so they made the shelving and the metal sign on the building.” Tattoo artist Danny Reed, owner of Hot Stuff Tattoo and one of Canipelli’s best friends, did the graphic branding and logo. “He did the Contrada logo, and we knew he would be able to interpret what we wanted to say.”
Over a dozen starters and small plates create a bounty of difficult decisions for diners; entrees are pared down to a trio, one of which will always be a fish. Though they don’t appeal to everyone, the sweetbreads dish – created by Alex — inspired one fan to profess her passion for them on Instagram, noting she has ordered them all three times she has been in. It’s the multiple visits by faces familiar and new that assure Kat and her partners they are on the right track. “How eager people have been to share their experiences with us has been wonderful, and also very emotional. People talking about Cucina and Brian, people talking about Vivian, what RAD went through and what Asheville went through. New people and visitors here to support Asheville. The point of eating together is to connect with other people, and we’re doing our best to be here for that.” — Written by Kay West Photos courtesy of Crusco, photos by Don Panicko |
Relationships are at the core at Crusco
10.20.2025
They are the same two farms that for years informed the culinary core of Cucina 24, the Italian restaurant opened by chef Brian Canipelli on Wall Street in Downtown Asheville in 2008. It is where Crusco’s four owners first met and worked together – Lauren, chef Alex Harris, beverage director Allen Clark and co-owner/Canipelli’s life partner Kat Kearney.
Crusco’s menu has remained the same structurally in its first two-plus months of operation but has changed incrementally as availability of product shifts. “We do it in a semi-calculated manner,” says Lauren. “I get my lists from Gaining Ground and Evan on Mondays, so we know what we’re looking at that week, and what changes we need to make. We try to just do three to four dishes at a time to keep it simpler for the kitchen and front of house.”