Golden Hour, the wood-fired restaurant located inside The Radical Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina’s River Arts District, will reopen on Saturday, March 1 following recovery from the effects of Hurricane Helene. Upon reopening, the restaurant will debut a new menu from Asheville restaurateur and two-time James Beard Award-nominated Jacob Sessoms and the restaurant’s Executive Chef Kevin Chrisman, who center dishes around locally sourced, farm-driven ingredients and strong relationships with local farmers and artisans. The restaurant is now accepting dinner reservations here.
After hosting a series of sold-out pop-up dinners during the temporary closure, Golden Hour will be open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner service from 5-9pm, providing an easy-going yet refined spot for hotel guests and locals to grab dinner and drinks. Golden Hour’s new menu features starter plates like a savory Rice Pot Cornbread; Evan’s ‘Not Waldorf’ salad with grapes, bleu, savory walnuts & a smoked apple dressing; Greens & Purples with creamy cashew & crunchies; and ‘Pork & Beans’ with whole NC hog, butterbeans, johnny cakes & chicharron.
Standout mains include an Apple Brandy Picanha Steak with chimichurri; Half Wood-Roasted Chicken & a Big Ass Market Salad with a brown butter vinaigrette; a Slow Roast Lamb on David’s Grits with lamb braise, red wine, garlic, shallot, molasses, grilled citrus & za’atar finished with an herb salad; and the Daily Carolina Catch with spring vegetables & collards salsa with roasted onion, citrus & spruce butter.
For dessert, guests can indulge in a Strawberry Rhubarb galette with salted vanilla ice cream, a Radical Trifle with yellow cake, vanilla creme fraiche, buttermilk caramel, macerated fruits & brandy sabayon and a seasonally inspired Chocolate Pot de Creme with Underberg cream, toasted hazelnuts & olive oil. The restaurant commissioned local Asheville artist Kevin Andrew to design the new menu artwork.
“We are looking forward to welcoming the community to Golden Hour and getting back into the kitchen with our team,” said Sessoms. “We are so grateful to be a part of the resilient community of Asheville as we continue to rebuild and look to the future together.”
Building community is at the core of The Radical’s mission, and during storm recovery, the hotel’s team immediately moved to transform the property into a home for first responders and a distribution center for much-needed supplies for the community. The Radical also teamed up with River Arts District Artists (RADA) Foundation, Explore Asheville and Ponce City Market to host a “Love Asheville from Afar” pop-up art gallery at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, Georgia, featuring works from RAD artists impacted by Helene. The restaurant teams cooked and served food for the neighborhood, and Sessoms was one of several North Carolina chefs who participated in Cooks for Carolina – a New Orleans dinner series that supported Asheville’s independent restaurants. The hotel is currently sponsoring the River Arts District Artists’ new downtown outpost. The gallery provides exposure and workspace for displaced artists and informs visitors that the upper RAD is open.
The hotel’s coffee shop and bar, after/glow, is now open every day from 8am-1pm for coffee from North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee, Dobra teas and housemade daily morning bites that rotate often and include staples like croissants, danishes, and sweet and savory pastries. On weekends, after/glow also opens in the evenings from 5-10pm for playful, coffee-forward cocktails and party vibes. This Friday, February 14, guests are invited to celebrate Valentine’s Day at after/glow and enjoy music by @djmollyparti from 6-9pm.
The Radical’s rooftop bar, The Roof, will reopen in the coming months (stay tuned for the date on Instagram).
Just named USA TODAY 10Best’s number two 2025 Readers’ Choice Award for Best New Hotel, the hotel reopened in January and is accepting reservations here.
The Radical – Located in the heart of Asheville, North Carolina’s River Arts District, The Radical is a boutique hotel and living art installation owned by commercial real estate development firm Hatteras Sky and capital partner Somera Capital East. The property debuted in October 2023 and is operated by Driftwood Hospitality Management. 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, a flagship wood-fire restaurant named Golden Hour, a rooftop bar and a cafe and bar called after/glow – all from local Asheville resident and two-time James Beard nominated restaurateur Jacob Sessoms. Inspired by the River Arts District’s RAD moniker, The Radical brings together a collective of buzzing energy, creative talents, and shared experiences designed to inspire all guests to be fearlessly radical.
