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I’ve been to Asheville a couple of times before, but this was the first time I explored Downtown Asheville a little more. I also had my dog, Kuma, with me and this was her first time in Asheville. I was excited to see what kind of dog-friendly things I could do with her since Asheville calls itself “Dog City USA”.

I mainly made the trip up to Asheville because I wanted to see an Interpol concert. Interpol is my ultimate favorite band and I’ve been a die-hard fan of theirs for at least 10 years. Anytime they go on tour, I try to go to at least one of their concerts.

They usually have a couple shows in Florida, but for some reason, they decided not to include Florida in their tour this year. So I started looking up nearby cities where they would be playing.

Atlanta was closer to Tampa, where I live, but the general admission tickets were sold out. Next city on their tour was Asheville, which is about a 9.5-hour drive from Tampa. I’ve done road trips with Kuma for 10+ hours, so I knew we could make the drive easily. 

Asheville was also a great choice because I already knew it was a small town with unique charm and friendly locals. I wanted to be in place where I felt comfortable going to a concert solo. I’ve been to a concert solo before, but I’ve never traveled hundreds of miles for one.

I decided to spend a couple of days in Asheville so that I could explore the downtown area with Kuma too. Here’s what we ended up doing in Asheville for 36 hours: 

FRIDAY

5 PM Check in to Hotel - 7 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

We arrived at Kimpton Hotel Arras around 5 PM and instantly loved the friendly staff who gave Kuma lots of attention. Kimpton hotels are known to be super dog-friendly and all pets stay for free. 

There are many hotels to choose from in Asheville, but I wanted to stay in a hotel that was walking distance to the concert venue. I also wanted to be in an area where I could walk around with Kuma instead of having to take my car out to explore.

I booked a standard two queen bed room and loved the view I had of downtown Asheville with the mountains in the background. Kuma also enjoyed people watching the streets down below her.

6 PM Dog Door - 1 Battle Square A, Asheville, NC 28801

We walked to Dog Door, about a 10-minute walk, where we could get more information on dog-friendly things to do in Asheville. Dog Door is where they consider the place to be a welcome center for dogs. It’s also a dog behavioral center and a pet store. 

There were lots of free cups lined up on the table with information on dog-friendly activities in Asheville. I took one of the lists and browsed around the store for a bit. The store clerk noticed Kuma and gave her a treat as well.

7 PM Twisted Laurel - 130 College St, Asheville, NC 28801

We walked back towards our hotel and ate at a pet-friendly restaurant nearby called Twisted Laurel. I read online somewhere that this restaurant had a dog friendly menu, but they never gave me such a menu.

I didn’t bother to ask because I was tired and there was also loud music nearby (since there was a festival going on), so I wanted to eat quickly and head back to the hotel. 

SATURDAY

9 AM Bargello - 7 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

I originally wanted to have breakfast at Mayfel’s since it was a dog-friendly restaurant that had great reviews, but they did not open until 10 AM. I wanted to get the day started earlier than that, so I decided to have breakfast at the hotel instead.

The service was great at Bargello’s and the food was good, but the portion of my omelet was pretty small for the price. I did like that we had plenty of space outdoors and it was very quiet. I wish they had some nice outdoor decor because their restaurant inside was beautiful.

10 AM Patton Avenue Pet Company - 109 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

Upon our check-in at Kimpton Hotel Arras, Kuma was given a gift bag  full of goodies by Patton Avenue Pet Company including treats called Brew-Yahs. Kuma really loved these treats and I especially liked them because they were easy to break into pieces.

I like to break all of Kuma’s treats into little pieces so that she feels like she’s getting more than just one treat. Plus, she gobbles treats like a piggy, so breaking them up into pieces forces her to take her time. 

I wanted to get more of these treats, so we headed to Patton Ave Pet Co. to get some more. I was surprised at how spacious the pet store was. I’m used to local pet stores being pretty small, but this local store basically had everything a pet could ask for.

The staff was friendly and helped me find out if they sold these treats online too. I was glad to know that they did and bought all of their sample treats at the store so that I could have them with me for the road. On our way out, Kuma got a treat as well.

11 AM Malaprop’s Bookstore - 55 Haywood St, Asheville, NC 28801

I don’t read books much these days, but I always like to stop by a local bookstore. I especially wanted to stop by Malaprop’s Bookstore because they had a fun little section called Blind Date with a Book.

In this section, all the books were wrapped up in brown paper and on the front was a description of the story. Essentially, it’s a mystery book and I thought this was such a unique idea. I had to buy one of the books out of curiosity. 

The store manager noticed Kuma and asked if she could give Kuma a “reward”. Most store clerks check to make sure if it’s okay to give your dog a treat, but I also appreciated that she didn’t use the word “treat” so that Kuma wouldn’t get excited. 

12 PM Kress Emporium - 19 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

The Kress Emporium is a large space with individual stores selling regional works of art from over 80 artists and craftspeople.  There were a lot of cute and unique items in here that are great for gifts or home decor.

1 PM Hazel Twenty Boutique - 16 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

Hazel Twenty is a lovely boutique store filled with trendy clothes. I loved a lot of their clothing items and thought they did a wonderful job styling outfits.

This store also has a cute dog named Maisie walking around greeting all the customers. And of course, Kuma got another treat from the staff.

2 PM Farm Burger - 10 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

I wanted to eat outdoors at Farm Burger with Kuma since it was a pet-friendly restaurant, but they were so busy that the staff never came outside to greet the customers.

Since the restaurant was right next to the hotel I was staying at, I just decided to order the food through Uber Eats and picked it up after I left Kuma in the hotel room. 

The burger was pretty good and I can see why it’s popular. Their burgers are grass-fed and use ingredients that come from organic, local farms.

3:30 PM Rabbit Rabbit - 75 Coxe Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

Interpol was playing at Rabbit Rabbit, which was a 10-minute walk from my hotel. The concert doors were not opening until 6pm, but I purchased a special early entry pass. 

I’m not sure if they offer this pass for all the concerts, but it’s a nice bonus for fans that want the best chance at being in the front row. I got front row and center, so I was very happy with my spot.

The venue was pretty nice, but I do wish the front row wasn’t so far away from the stage. 

If I wasn’t going to a concert, I probably would have checked out one of the breweries since Asheville is known for that. I don’t drink beer, but they often offer ciders as well.

Wicked Weed Brewing has the best local beer and great food. Another interesting place to check out is Citizen Vinyl. It’s a cool cafe, bar, record shop, and vinyl pressing factory.

10 PM District 42 at Kimpton Hotel Arras

When I got back to the hotel after the concert, there were a lot of people gathered outside of District 42, the hotel’s bar. It was a lively environment and I loved the music the DJ was playing. 

Everyone was having a great time and even people that walked by took interest because it looked so entertaining. I took Kuma outside for her last walk and lingered around the bar to enjoy the music for a bit.

SUNDAY

8 AM Early Girl Eatery - 8 Wall St, Asheville, NC 28801

I could not find many restaurants that opened before 9 AM in downtown Asheville, but Early Girl Eatery opened at 8 AM, so I headed over there around 8:15 to get some pancakes. 

I sat at the bar area and ordered pancakes, grits, and bacon. Everything tasted great and I was satisfied with my pancake fix. By the time I left, there was a long line out the door, so this place is definitely popular.

10 AM Downtown Asheville Murals

Asheville is known to be an artistic town, so there are a lot of murals around downtown. I stopped by a few with Kuma and one of my favorites was the Daydreamer mural at the Aloft parking garage.

Right by the Daydreamer mural is a cute red double decker bus that sells coffee and desserts. I would have definitely stopped by here to get some coffee with Kuma if I hadn’t already had breakfast.

I also stopped by Chicken Alley to take pictures by the iconic Asheville mural, but it was not as I remembered it being when I visited years ago. 

A lot of the artistic objects like the piano with succulents were gone and there was broken glass by the mural, so we weren’t able to take pictures by the mural, which was disappointing.

Some other popular murals around the area are the Tom Selleck & Sloth mural, Dolly Parton and RuPaul murals, and The Dude from The Big Lebowski mural.

12 PM Check Out

Check-out time at Kimpton Hotel Arras was 12 PM. If you’re an IHG rewards member, you can request a late check-out and they will try their best to give you a late checkout up to 2pm. I am a member, but had to move on to the next destination, so I did not ask for the late check-out.

I’m glad I was able to spend some extra time in Asheville to explore the downtown area. For the most part, it’s still that small, charming town I remember from years ago and it was good to see that it has not changed much.

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