About
Heirloom Hospitality Group was created in 2008 when a mother and daughter from New York City decided to fulfill their dream of opening a restaurant. What started as general conversation began to solidify into a concrete description of the atmosphere, style, type of food, and location of a real feasible restaurant. The location was the easiest. On many drives throughout the eastern United States, specifically North Carolina, we fell in love with Asheville, NC. Asheville is a beautiful haven in the Blue Ridge Mountains with friendly open-minded people. It immediately seemed like a place that we could easily call home.
The concept of our restaurant reflects the Asheville community. We envision a restaurant that focuses on supporting local farmers and environmentally sustainable practices while introducing some products from like-minded entrepreneurs around the world. The atmosphere will be welcoming; the food will be traditional, inventive and plated with an artistic eye. Honest food, artfully presented.
Four Main Players and Our Stories:
Liz Button (mother) – When Katie and I first started discussing opening a restaurant together, I thought, ¨It‘s about time that the women in our family finally created a restaurant after so many generations of excellent cooks.¨ To this day I reference my mother’s recipe for butter cookies, among many others (I still can’t get her fudge recipe to taste as good as she made it!) and my grandmother’s recipe for Thousand Island dressing. My career in the food industry started with Godfather’s Pizza in Augusta, Georgia where I started as Assistant Manager and within months worked my way up to District Manager. From there I worked in a small, but very well known, catering business in South Carolina and helped open and manage Cottage Cuisine, a lunch spot created for the Garden Club in Falls Cottage on the Reedy River in Greenville, SC. Click here to read more
Ted Button (father) – My professional experience has all been in corporate aviation. I have 20 years of expertise in owning and operating a corporate aviation management business. So what am I doing with HHG?
Talent! The opportunity to work with Liz, Katie and Felix was so appealing that I immediately asked to be included when the concept of a consulting and restaurant group was being discussed. I hope to contribute with a translation of my years in aircraft management to restaurateuring. I’m also looking forward to what I know (with this group) will be an exciting and satisfying ride.
Katie Button (daughter) – I graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and went on to complete a master’s degree at L´École Centrale in Paris, France. I didn’t realize that I needed a career change until I was about to start my PhD. I went from a PhD student studying neuroscience to server at a restaurant called Cafe Atlantico/Minibar in Washington DC. It was there that I fell in love with restaurants, food, cooking, and Felix Meana, a Chef de Rang from El Bulli, Ferran Adria´s famous restaurant in Spain. Felix introduced me to Spain, El Bulli, and applications for liquid nitrogen outside of the lab. Click here to read more
Felix Meana (fiancé) – I’m from a small town on the Costa Brava in Catalunya, Spain, called Roses. This is where the restaurant El Bulli is located and where I have been working as a chef de rang for the last five years. I owe a large part of my professional experience at the highest level to El Bulli. I say “part” because my initial experience in this career was 15 years earlier in this same town as a co-owner of a bar with my brother Cesar called L´Hort D´En Minguets. My desire for adventure and travel then led me down another path for 8 years to a ski resort in the Pyrenees, Pal & Arinsal, in Andorra. Click here to read more