Western North Carolina farmers have repeatedly called for a new slaughterhouse and red meat processing plant that meets current needs. But the high cost of such facilities and uncertainty concerning its economic feasibility have hindered efforts to establish one here. Some businesses’ and residents’ resistance to having a slaughterhouse for a neighbor further complicates the picture.

“The demand for local meats, local food in general, has really increased over the past 10 years,” says Sarah Blacklin, director of NC Choices, an initiative that coordinates with various stakeholders to promote small-scale meat production. “We have a lot of farmers and processors that are trying to meet that demand.”

A report prepared for the Southwestern North Carolina Planning and Economic Development Commission and WNC AgriVentures found that although Buncombe County businesses are responsible for most of the red meat raised for production and local sales in the region, the plant should be sited in McDowell County, due to the lower cost of land and greater acceptance of such facilities. Under Buncombe County zoning rules, slaughterhouses are allowed as a conditional use only in areas not served by the Metropolitan Sewerage District.

Many communities and local governments don’t want a slaughterhouse “in their backyard,” says consultant Smithson Mills, who prepared the report. Buncombe County’s restrictions were enacted to protect a growing tourism industry, the report notes.

Meanwhile, efforts to develop such a facility are continuing. “A plan has been developed, a lot of information has been gathered, and we’re actively looking for people who’d be interested in participating,” says Mills.

Robin Reeves of Reeves Home Place Farm in Leicester, says she now drives an hour and a half to Greeneville, Tenn., for red meat processing and one hour to Marion for poultry processing.

“When you can save two hours, that’s two hours you can be on your farm doing stuff,” notes Reeves, who raises pigs for the WhiskeyPigs brand.

Will it pay?

“The challenge for some farmers,” says Blacklin, “is how much they have to drive to get to different processing facilities. Then again, the processors have the challenge of making sure they have their business supported.”

For Casey McKissick, co-founder of Foothills Local Meats in Black Mountain, a local processing facility could have a big impact on the company’s wholesale, retail and deli operations.

“A state-of-the-art, well-managed plant neighboring Asheville will bring more supply to the area, meaning buyers will have more options of vendors to choose from,” says McKissick, who served as an adviser and helped developed portions of the report. “A new plant would likely spur new development in the distribution link of the supply chain, which may mean that logistics could become easier and/or less expensive.”

As for feasibility, he continues, “The Mills study has been the most comprehensive yet, and it suggests that demand may be sufficient in this area to support a new plant.”

The Southeast’s existing plants don’t offer the variety of cuts, smoked meats and sausages needed to meet customer demand. “A lot of people want those different kinds of cuts — the whole pig with the head still on, that type of stuff,” notes Reeves, saying she’d welcome such a facility in Haywood or Madison County. “We want to expand that part of the meat market.”

Blacklin agrees. “Although we have a lot of processing facilities in North Carolina, there’s only a couple handfuls that really provide the services that farmers want when it comes to selling meat direct,” she explains, such as retail-ready, vacuum-sealed packaging, USDA or state-inspected labeling, and the ability to produce sausages or fully smoked meats.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture inspects plants in Burke, Rutherford and Swain counties, and there are eight USDA-inspected plants within a few hours’ drive of WNC, including some in Georgia and Tennessee. But only one North Carolina facility can provide fully smoked products, says Blacklin, and it’s in the eastern part of the state.

“That’s a big distance for them,” she notes. “If you’re getting into higher-end, value-added items, that’s a long way to send fresh meat.”

Making it happen

Published last October, the report contains a draft business plan that includes those kinds of services. The actual product offerings, however, will depend on how much money is available from private investors, says Mills. The projected startup cost for a full-service facility is more than $2 million. Once a financing package is finalized and signed, he says, construction should take about a year.

“I have design specs, I have cost estimates, I have equipment lists with cost estimates. I have a site where it could be built, I have the support of the town where it’s targeted to be built, and I think there’s an opportunity to execute this program.”

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The French Broad River corridor is booming.

The tubing traffic on the French Broad River on warm weekends mirrors the backup on the Bowen Bridge. The parking for the Bywater spills down Riverside Drive.

Realtor and developer Dean Pistor said he saw the influx coming. That’s why he invested in a derelict property on the corner of State Street and Amboy Road, which is soon to see the opening of the Asheville Food Park.

“A lot of people would come by and say, have you lost your mind?” Pistor said. “Tear that building down.”

The park will serve as a home for several food trucks, providing them with food storage, a kitchen, and a space to vend year-round. It will also be a vending space for artists and produce vendors and will see eclectic businesses from boutique pop-up shops to sausage vendors.

And, come July, it will be home to Cascade Bar, a locally run craft beer and cocktail lounge, and the second location for Edna’s of Asheville, a beloved coffee shop that opened four years ago on Merrimon Avenue.

Though the building is within view of the river, much of the focus will be on Mead Creek, which flows down the length of the property, giving the Food Park about 300 feet of creek frontage, a shady space for food trucks and dining.

“There’s green space in between, a fire pit way in the back and more green space all up front, so basically you have a long park setting that meanders along the creek for dining and drinking,” Pistor said.

Corey Israel from the Isis Restaurant and Music Hall and Trevor Smith, previously of Tupelo Honey, will run the Cascade Bar, bringing the craft cocktail experience to the river without the downtown prices.

“It can be done cheaper, and I think that’s going to be part of our draw,” Israel said.

Both Israel and Smith are focused on creating a “flexible” atmosphere, one that can cater to residents of the nearby neighborhoods, kayakers coming off the river and weekend tubing tourists.

“The atmosphere will be accessible to everyone, considering it will serve as the beverages for the Food Park,” Smith said. “It’s not just going to be rowdy, or family, or a West Asheville bar; it’s going to cater to anyone who feels like coming in there.”

As the Cascade Bar will be equipped to handle the night owls who stay out until 2 a.m., Edna’s will open for the people who rise for the day just hours later.

Opening at 6 a.m., Edna’s will serve locally roasted coffee, scratch-baked goods, smoothies and root beer made in the building by an artisan soda maker. Vegetables will come from the produce vendor who will set up in the park.

Mike Zukoski, co-owner of Edna’s, is a potter, so it’s fitting he’d open the second location of his 4-year-old coffee shop on the edge of the River Arts District. The coffee shop should have a river theme and a plan to support local artists.

“Asheville has not historically embraced the river as much as it should have,” Zukowski said.

But with the new Adventure Center coming to Amboy Road, the influx of tourists coming to the area and the ever-creeping footprint of the River Arts District, that’s poised to change even more.

“As a Realtor who’s been working in this market since ’89, I’ve always had a huge desire to see the River District transform,” Pistor said. “I’ve been watching it since before the Bywater even had a vision to open there. I have expected it to blow up.”

Pistor’s vision didn’t steer him wrong.

A $100,000 grant in 2010 from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority has paved the way for the Smoky Mountain Adventure Center, which broke ground at 173 Amboy Road last year.

Additionally, Duke Energy is working to develop pedestrian access to Carrier Park, which is directly across the street from the Food Truck Park. That increased foot traffic should lead people straight to Pistor’s park.

Even so, the challenges to working with the property have been “overwhelming,” Pistor said.

“All of the different things from the stream buffer to the floodplain to the zoning to not having frontage on Amboy Road because of the easement from the power line — there’s a long list of issues with the site, but the city helped me get through those to design something that worked with that site.”

The Asheville Food Park should open in mid July. Food trucks will be listed at www.ashevillefoodpark.com when the website is live.

The Asheville Food Park will be at 235 Amboy Road, across from Carrier Park.