About Us

Corner Kitchen Est. 2004

Welcome to Corner Kitchen

How it Started

Our Story

Exterior of restaurant
Our house was built in 1895, part of the early days of Biltmore Village.

Biltmore Village, Now & Then

The day we opened the Corner Kitchen in 2004, this house was 109 years old. It was built around 1895 as part of Biltmore Village. George Washington Vanderbilt came to Asheville in the late 1880s. Taken with the beauty of the area, he purchased a vast amount of land including the 72 acres around the town of Best, which became Biltmore Village.

He commissioned famed landscape architect, Frederic Law Olmstead, designer of New York’s Central Park, to design this charming neighborhood. Richard Morris Hunt, the architect for the Biltmore House, designed four of the original Village buildings, All Souls Church, the Railway Station, The Biltmore Company offices, and the Post Office. After Hunt’s death, the job of completing the houses and shops was left to Richard Sharpe Smith who was Hunt’s on-site architect. Vanderbilt built these homes to house the workers he would need to keep his self-sufficient estate running. Initially, the homes were rental units for many of the Estate workers. The first people to live in this house were the Waddells, parents of Vanderbilt’s civil engineer.

A House of Food

Since early times, our house has been associated with food. In the 1930s, Charles Jennings lived in the house and started a restaurant known as The Biltmore Café, near the train station, which evolved into the famous Hot Shot. For most of the past thirty years, 3 Boston Way has been operated as a restaurant. We love the beauty and warmth of these lovely homes that were so carefully designed and built more than a century ago. We hope to share some of that with you and enhance your enjoyment of the village.

During the past forty years, the Village has become a thriving commercial center. Our owner Kevin Westmoreland grew up nearby and remembers the days when it was filled with families and small businesses like a barber shop and a grocery store. In the mid-1970s, Biltmore Village was designated a Historic District, which protected the remaining houses built during Vanderbilt’s time.

lobster bisque with white wine
Server taking order
Our Storied History

Timeline

1888

George Vanderbilt buys the town and Best, NC, including the sawmill, brickworks, hotel, and train station.

1895-1905

Biltmore Village is established as a planned “Company Town” with streetscape designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Most of the homes are designed by on-site architect and designer, Richard Sharpe Smith. The Waddells, first residents of 3 Boston Way, move in.

1916

Massive flooding from two successive hurricanes hits Biltmore Village causing extensive damage and flooding to the second floor on some buildings. 29 lives were lost.

1920

After the death of George Vanderbilt in 1914, Mrs. Vanderbilt sells the town of Biltmore Village. Most homes became rental properties.

1940

Flood strikes again!

1962

Kevin Westmoreland is born. His family moves into the old family place up on Reed Street. His childhood phone number of 828-274-2439 was available when we opened the Corner Kitchen restaurant in Biltmore Village and we were able to secure it for our number. Kismet!

1972

First Arts and Craft Fair — this begins Biltmore Village’s retail and commercial development.

1979

The Historic Resource Commission is established in Asheville in an effort to protect and preserve the remaining original buildings in the city with a special emphasis on Biltmore Village.

1980

3 Boston Way ceases to be a residence and enters its “commercial” phase. An architect’s office, then a restaurant, and finally as a coffee roaster/café, before becoming the Corner Kitchen restaurant and bar.

1997

Kevin Westmoreland buys the family home and moves into Reed street with his wife and two children.

2000

Joe Scully moves to Asheville with his two children.

2001

Matthew Westmoreland and Matthew Scully bring their dads together at a meeting of YMCA “Y” Guides.

2003

Joe is approached by Bill Ashton of Hathaway’s Coffee and Café at 3 Boston Way. Bill wants to retire and offers Joe his shop. Kevin and Joe form a company: Westmoreland and Scully.

Feb 2004

Corner Kitchen opens!

Sep 2004

Flood strikes again. Corner Kitchen is shut down for 3 months. Kevin and Joe rebuild. We retained almost all of our staff and worked with members of the community to provide catering and pay the bills while the first floor of the house was rebuilt.

Dec 2004

Corner Kitchen re-opens!!! Begins seven day a week dinner service that year.

Apr 2010

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama dine at Corner Kitchen.

Jul 2012

The Corner Kitchen became Green Restaurant Association certified.

Mar 2015

Major remodel of the restaurant includes a new bar, inclusion of equipment for beer on tap, new flooring, and remodeling of both bathrooms.

Feb 2024

The Corner Kitchen turns 20.
Our Commitment

Giving Back

At Westmoreland & Scully (W&S), we believe that any company, regardless of size, positively impacts their community by being socially responsible.

Community

We are deeply connected to our community’s welfare, and support organizations that fund projects and nonprofits related to food, children, the local economy, and the environment.

Some of the organizations we commit time and funds to include Manna FoodBank, Eliada Homes, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, and Asheville Community Theater.

Employees

In addition to the community at large, ensuring that W&S employees make a living wage is of utmost importance to us.

Our employees also have access to health plans, dental, vision, supplemental insurance, PTO, EAP…which is a rarity in restaurants.
kitchen staff member with plated entrees

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Winston Churchill
fried oyster salad and drink
dessert

Sweets for a Cause

Every quarter, Corner Kitchen and our sister restaurant, Chestnut, donates a portion of dessert sales to a local non-profit.

Previous SFAC Recipients (2018, 2019 and 2021): ABCCM’s Women’s Transformation Village North Carolina Outward Bound, Asheville Greenworks, Our VOICE, Verner, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, Mama Maisha, Pisgah Legal Services, ACS Foundation, Literacy Council of Buncombe County.

Environment

Our dedication to the environment began in 2004 with a comprehensive recycling program. W&S’s composting program, implemented in 2005, became the inspiration and model for many other high-end independent restaurants in Asheville. We are also proud to say that Corner Kitchen is green certified. Last but not least, we always strive to partner with local farmers, makers, and producers to contribute to a circular economy.

Victims of Gun Violence

On April 30th, 2019, one of our former employees and member of our “family” was tragically killed. Riley Howell, the 21-year-old hero who courageously stood up against a gunman at the University of North Carolina—Charlotte campus, was the long-time boyfriend of Co-owner Kevin Westmoreland’s daughter, Lauren. We support the Riley Howell Foundation Fund which supports families affected by gun violence.

Corner Kitchen is proud to be part of Asheville's vibrant food scene and...don't forget that parking is free in the village (and very abundant during dinner service)!

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project
Asheville Independent Restaurants Association

CORNER KITCHEN

3 Boston Way
Historic Biltmore Village
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 274-2439
Open Daily
Brunch: 9:30 - 2:30
Dinner: 5pm until...

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© 2024 Westmoreland & Scully