Asheville’s Biltmore Park Town Square Enhances Dining Mix
Posted: 04-29-2009 : ASHEVILLE, N.C.

Asheville, N.C. -- Biltmore Farms LLC and Crosland LLC welcome Travinia Italian Kitchen and Cold Stone Creamery–Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to Western North Carolina’s premier mixed-use destination, Biltmore Park Town Square.

Travinia Italian Kitchen (6,423 sf) brings its upscale Italian dining and catering to North Carolina for the first time. Asheville diners will enjoy extensive pasta, steak and seafood offerings accompanied by a wide selection of specialty martinis and wines at casual dining prices. The restaurant will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. While most dinner menu selections are served all day, a variety of sandwiches and wraps are added to the lunch menu to cater to the daytime crowd. The restaurant will open this fall near the Regal Biltmore Grande Stadium 15.

Travinia currently operates in Greenville, Columbia, Lexington and Myrtle Beach, S.C., but the Biltmore Park Town Square location is the restaurant’s first venture outside its home state.

“We chose to expand to Biltmore Park Town Square because Asheville is such a thriving scene for the restaurant industry, and we feel with its variety of uses, this development will attract a wide array of consumers,” said Mark Craig, owner of Travinia Italian Kitchen.

“Asheville already has such a rich culinary tradition, so our goal has been to introduce new dining experiences to the region,” said Charles Thrift, senior leasing associate for Crosland. “We think that Travinia Italian Kitchen is a great addition to the restaurant scene, and Cold Stone–Rocky Mountain adds a quick family-friendly option for shoppers and residents.”

Cold Stone Creamery–Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (1,240 sf) will offer treats to satisfy any sweet tooth. This is the first co-branded store of its kind on the East Coast and one of only a handful in the nation.

Cold Stone Creamery ice cream is handcrafted daily in the store and served with a variety of mix-in toppings. Customers select a creamery flavor, such as sweet cream, mint, cake batter or chocolate, then choose from an extensive list of candy, nut and fruit mix-ins. Each ice cream and mix-in combination is considered a creation, and the signature process of blending the ingredients before the customer on a frozen granite stone completes “the ultimate ice cream experience.”

The eatery will also offer a collection of premium chocolates and confectionary products found in Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory stores across the nation. Customers can enjoy candy by the box, homemade fudge and caramel, and an extensive selection of candied apples. Located near the University of Phoenix, Cold Stone Creamery–Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory plans to open early this summer and will operate Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.

“We have been looking forward to opening this store in Biltmore Park for some time,” said owner Chad Eads. “We cannot wait to introduce Cold Stone Creamery–Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to south Asheville.”

Chad and Stacy Eads are local franchisors who operate three stores in Asheville and the Greenville, S.C., area. They have lived in nearby Arden for three years.

Travinia Italian Kitchen and Cold Stone Creamery–Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory join Biltmore Park Town Square’s other distinctive eateries, all of which are new to Asheville: 131 Main Restaurant (6,724 sf) and Brixx Wood Fired Pizza Oven (3,882 sf), which are scheduled to open this spring, and P.F. Chang’s (6,640 sf), which opened in December to rave reviews.

“It is crucial that we provide a variety of high-quality dining choices and price points for the many office users, residents and shoppers in Biltmore Park Town Square,” said Jack Cecil, president of Biltmore Farms. “These operators provide a wonderful combination of local, regional and national restaurants.”

About Biltmore Park Town Square
Biltmore Park Town Square is a $204 million mixed-use regional destination in south Asheville, located at the intersection of Interstate 26 and Long Shoals Road, exit 37. Ideally situated between downtown Asheville and Hendersonville, this highly visible location will meet the needs of diverse retail customers by providing national stores as well as shops that are unique to the region. Only three miles from Asheville Regional Airport, Biltmore Park is an attractive location for national and regional retailers, restaurants and corporations.

Tenants at Biltmore Park include a state-of-the art, 65,000-square-foot YMCA; a 57,000-square-foot Regal Cinema boasting stadium-style seating and 15 screens; Western North Carolina’s only REI; Barnes & Noble, opening fall 2009; and Volvo Construction Equipment’s North American headquarters. Town Square’s 42-acre master plan includes 283,000 square feet of retail, entertainment and restaurants, 270,000 square feet of Class-A office space, a 165-room Hilton Hotel, and an urban residential component comprised of approximately 274 Class-A apartments, condominiums and townhomes, which are now selling and leasing.

Offering the area’s only prime, mixed-use space for lease, Biltmore Park Town Square is a joint venture between Biltmore Farms and Crosland. Inspired by New Urbanism principles, this progressive, one-of-a-kind development honors the tradition of its surroundings while adding energy and excitement to the community. With Asheville’s status as the largest, fastest-growing city in Western North Carolina and its consistent rating among the nation’s top 10 cities for relocation, this development will continue to draw the attention of retailers, restaurants and employers. For more information, please visit biltmorepark.com.

About Biltmore Farms LLC
Founded in 1897 and located in Asheville, N.C., Biltmore Farms has become a guiding force in land management and community development in Western North Carolina, based on George Vanderbilt’s vision of smart planning and healthy communities.

The company’s residential, master-planned communities include Biltmore Forest, Biltmore Park®, Biltmore Lake® and The Ramble® Biltmore Forest. Biltmore Farms also owns and manages Biltmore Farms Commercial, Biltmore Farms Hotels and Biltmore Farms Homes. For additional information, please visit biltmorefarms.com.

About Crosland LLC
Founded in 1937, Crosland is one of the most prominent diversified real estate companies in the Southeast and is recognized as a leading community builder. Its expertise in retail, multifamily, office, land development, and general contracting enables it to be an innovator in multi- and mixed-use development.


Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Crosland has offices in Raleigh, Orlando, Tampa and Nashville, and develops, builds and manages properties in the Carolinas, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The privately held company’s asset portfolio and current projects have a market value exceeding $2 billion. For more detail, visit crosland.com.