Lifestyle

The Radical is a bold, daring new boutique hotel and living art installation that just opened in the fall of 2023. This new boutique experience is located at 95 Roberts St, Asheville, NC 28801.

Housed in a once-abandoned 1920s warehouse that was formerly a cereal factory, the hotel is Asheville’s newest destination for travelers and locals alike with 70 unmistakable guest rooms and suites, plus a flagship wood-fire restaurant named Golden Hour, a rooftop bar, and a cafe and bar called after/glow. Each of the food and beverage concepts are from local Asheville resident and two-time James Beard-nominated restaurateur Jacob Sessoms. 

The hotel’s name is inspired by the moniker “RAD,” short for the River Arts District, an Asheville neighborhood that runs along the French Broad River and houses working studios and galleries of hundreds of artists focused on painting, pottery, jewelry, glass, metal, wood and much more. The Radical brings together a collective of buzzing energy, creative characters and shared experiences designed to inspire guests to be fearlessly radical. 

Ongoing and timely happenings at The Radical include:

• Girls in the Booth (Every Thursday, 7-10pm) – Thursdays at after/glow are all about Girls in the Booth! The morning, noon and night spot invites guests in for their new series, Girls in the Booth, highlighting a different local female DJ every Thursday from 7-10pm. Check after/glow’s Instagram for the latest lineup.

• Supper at Six (Monthly) – Golden Hour’s new series is made for talented women across all industries. This monthly women in business supper club is an opportunity for great minds to eat, drink and gather. For $45 per person, attendees can enjoy a three-course supper and one glass of bubbly. Check The Radical’s Instagram for the latest.

• Art Sessions with Live Demo and Q&A (2nd Saturday each month) – Coinciding with the River Art District Gallery Walk, The Radical hosts an art session the second Saturday of every month. Highlighting a different local artist each time, the sessions include a live demo of the artists’ work from noon-5pm followed by a Q&A with the artists at 5pm.

• Breakfast at after/glow – The cafe is now serving fresh and hearty pastries and breakfast items from The Radical’s chefs and bakery team. Guests can pair their morning coffee with savory items like the Everyday Breakfast Sandwich with baked egg, bacon, cheese & a house English muffin, Grits & Greens Bowl with poached eggs, parmesan chili crisp & toast and more. See here for the full menu.

• Brunch at Golden Hour – Later this month, Golden Hour will be launching a new weekend brunch menu and hosting a special Easter brunch. More details to come!

ABOUT THE PROPERTY

The 70-room contemporary hotel breathes new life into a historic building while preserving beautiful evidence of its past lives — from a 1920s breakfast cereal factory to a graffiti artists’ vacant paradise. With rebel luxe interiors by Suomi Design Works, the hotel’s richly layered design effortlessly melds with towering raw concrete pillars, exposed brick walls and original street art, including work from decades past as well as modern pieces. Paired with distinctive guest touchpoints created by Might & Main, the result is a place that feels like nowhere else. Simultaneously spectacular and ultimately approachable, The Radical is a decadent and welcoming destination for all within the gritty RAD neighborhood. 

The Radical’s guest rooms are a revelation, where lush contemporary design honors and evolves decades of organic artistic expression preserved on the walls of the historic building. Guests can immerse themselves in sumptuous curtained headboards, serene marble and brass bathrooms, broad windows to let the Asheville sunlight pour in, and blackout curtains for when it’s time to retreat to the darkness or mix up a drink under dramatic mood lighting.

The Radical offers eight room types including suites, river views and ones with spacious seating areas, plus black-out curtains, writing desks, smart TVs and wet bars. Reservations start at $239 per night depending on when you stay. Check rates and availability here.

THE ART

The Radical is a living, evolving museum of street, classical and modern art. The previously vacant building was covered in wall-to-wall graffiti, and instead of erasing it, the owners adopted the artwork as design inspiration, incorporating the concept into the hotel. 

To honor the history of the building and reflect the surrounding River Art District community, The Radical team engaged veteran local artist Ian Wilkinson to foster the tradition of graffiti in the building and curate what is now a world-class collection of art. The hotel features over 200 unique and original works of art, and Wilkinson and a team of talented artists – from Asheville and beyond – designed and painted murals in each guest room plus large-scale immersive works featured throughout the hotel’s common areas.

Wilkinson has collaborated to produce many landmark murals, fostering creativity and artistic expression for people of all ages. His passion has extended to organizing street art events, showcasing a commitment to community engagement. Specializing in archival mural production, Wilkinson serves as a valuable resource for fellow artists and has forged solid relationships with many preeminent figures in the mural and street art world. His work continues to add to the vibrant tapestry of cities around the world, like Miami, New York, Denver, Sacramento, Denver, San Francisco, Paris, Lyon and others.  

Artists involved in The Radical include Ishmael, Patch Whisky, KOMBS, Brett Bell, Brian, O’Rourke, Gillian Maurer, Stacy Kraft, Colton Dion, Dan Reid, Roan Allen, Shannon Owens, Maryanne Pappano, Emery, Joey Hindi, Mason Arana and Ian Wilkinson.

THE FOOD & DRINK

Helmed by celebrated local Asheville restaurateur Jacob Sessoms, The Radical takes guests on a culinary journey with three in-house food and beverage concepts. Golden Hour, the downstairs wood-fire restaurant. Open daily for dinner starting at 5pm and offering a full bar, Golden Hour is an easy-going yet refined spot for hotel guests and locals alike to grab a bite or drink. The free-flowing space is centered around a racetrack bar in the middle of the dining room and an open kitchen featuring a custom-made, wood-fired grill that fuels the buzz of the restaurant. The space seats 85 people inside and about 45 people on a beautifully terraced outdoor patio.

Centered around locally sourced, farm-driven ingredients, guests can expect a focus on seasonal dishes like ‘Country Captain’ Salad with market vegetables & walnuts and Wood-Grilled Skewers including BBQ’d Japanese sweet potato, chicken, shrimp or local & cultivated mushrooms, as well as a chophouse menu of bold, shareable dishes coming off the wood-fired grill. Highlights include Braised Lamb Shank with winter roots & beans, Whole Sunburst Trout with Lee’s rice & vierge and Half or Whole Chicken. Other tasty menu items include the Big-Ass Hamburger Sandwich with house fries, Pork Chop with pepper relish and small bites like Shellfish Beignets, Brave Potatoes, Deviled Crab Dip and more. See here for the full menu.

Golden Hour’s beverage program includes crafted cocktails with a twist alongside an exciting wine list with around 100 bottles, many of which are from natural, organic and Biodynamic producers.

Guests looking to unwind or get work done can head to after/glow, a coffee bar that evolves into a cocktail lounge each afternoon. The morning, noon and night spot is open from 7am-9pm Sunday-Wednesday and 7am-11pm Thursday-Saturday and offers daytime counter service including espresso, drip coffee from North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee and Dobra teas. Plus, guests can enjoy specialties like the chilled and frothy after/glow “draft latte” and a bright, rich and heady Honey Lavender Cappuccino. Cold and blended drinks include The Day Starter with honey, peanut butter, strawberry & banana and the Earlyglow with cold brew, banana, granola, oat milk & vanilla-orange. Housemade morning bites rotate often and include staples like croissants, danishes and sweet and savory pastries.

Come 3pm, after/glow transitions into a down-tempo bar serving handcrafted cocktails with music from a live DJ every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. after/glow serves playful, coffee-forward cocktails like Irish Moonlight – lush, rich, dark and warm, Bitches Brew – not your morning matcha latte, the Player’s Anthem – a cold frothy rum creamsicle and an Espresso Martini – say less! See here for the drink menu.

The Roof is a 125-person capacity rooftop bar overlooking the French Broad River and Asheville’s River Arts District. Open from noon to midnight when the weather is right, the Roof’s open-air bar serves up an inviting atmosphere with the best views in town for nibbles, sunset cocktails and weekly live music.

Sessoms is the founder and chef-partner at Perfectly Ad Hoc Hospitality Group and opened the iconic Asheville restaurant Table in 2005, launching the first of numerous successful culinary ventures in town. Today, the group also encompasses All Day Darling, a neighborhood café in Asheville’s historic Montford neighborhood. Sessoms, who oversees menu development, sourcing and operations at each concept, believes food should be soulful and heartfelt, and ingredients and attitude matter – no matter fine dining or casual. Each concept sources products locally from farmers and artisans he and his team know personally, and they make nearly everything in-house. A father of two, he aims for all of his restaurants to serve food that he would be happy to serve his own family.