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The Workshop Lounge, an innovative cocktail bar located on South Market Street between Eagle and Spruce streets, is housed within The Foundry Hotel, the newest luxury property to open its doors in downtown Asheville.
This 3,500-square-foot prohibition-style bar is the new neighbor of Benne on Eagle, an Appalachian-inspired restaurant owned and operated by John Fleer — the owner of Rhubarb and The Rhu.
Management of this rising star, which recently opened in December, didn’t just want to create another bar — they wanted to create a luxury atmosphere that was authentically Asheville.
“Asheville has such great local products that we can offer and introduce to our guests,” Nicole Phillips, director of sales at The Foundry Hotel, said, “such as local spirits, beers and locally made snacks.”
The buildings in which The Foundry Hotel and The Workshop Lounge now stand formerly housed Asheville Supply & Foundry Co. which was built in 1919. This company used to produce steel for some of Asheville’s most prominent buildings, including the Jackson Building, the Courthouse and even some of the entities on the Biltmore Estate.
“You can even walk around downtown and see ‘Asheville Supply & Foundry Co.’ on some of the manhole covers on our busy streets,” Phillips noted. You can even still see remnants of the original Asheville Supply & Foundry Co. sign plastered on the side of the new hotel.
Management decided to buy the 3 historic abandoned buildings that once were Asheville Supply & Foundry Co. and build 2 new buildings within, creating a historic enclave-type campus for the new hotel.
 The Workshop Lounge, a gorgeous 3,500-square-foot bar on the bottom floor of The Foundry Hotel.
During construction, The Foundry Hotel retained many of the architectural components that pay homage to the property’s roots, including the original pulley elevator, exposed beams, steel-star fastenings and industrial-style windows.
And when you walk inside the hotel, you’re met with these historic early 20th century design elements, gorgeous modern comforts and a stunning craft cocktail bar that immediately takes you back in time.
The Workshop Lounge, located on the bottom level of the hotel, used to house the wood-working shop for the Asheville Supply and Foundry Co.
The bartenders on duty serve up delicious staples, such as the Old Fashioned, and even more intriguing modern cocktails, such as The Fig Derby, which is a delicious concoction of fig-infused bourbon, lime, sweet vermouth and grand mariner.
The Fig Derby, a delicious cocktail and the bar's signature drink.
Besides the amazing and innovative craft cocktails, the bar also offers special beers on contract — meaning you can’t get these unique brews anywhere else in the region — from BearWaters Brewing Company located a few miles to the west in Canton, NC.
“We have grown organically as a team during the process of opening,” Phillips said, “and have focused heavily on building and maintaining local relationships that have helped us along the way.”
The Workshop Lounge also currently hosts live music on Thursday nights with the Russ Wilson Band and is planning to add even more local music nights on Friday and Saturday in Spring 2019.
Make sure to head over to The Workshop Lounge this week and have one of the mixologists craft you something special. And, as always, you can learn more about events, specials and other happenings at The Workshop Lounge by keeping up-to-date with their Dig Local profile.
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