A Legacy Served by the Slice: Highland Brewing Unveils "Oscar’s Pizza" in Honor of Founder Oscar Wong
Asheville’s craft beer landscape is undergoing a significant transformation this autumn, as Highland Brewing Company prepares to unveil its latest venture: Oscar’s Pizza. Situated on the brewery’s expansive 40-acre campus in East Asheville, the new restaurant serves as a poignant, culinary tribute to the late Oscar Wong, the visionary engineer who transformed the local beer scene and became known as the "Godfather of Asheville Craft Beer."
The launch represents more than just a new food menu; it is a deliberate expansion of Highland Brewing’s identity as a multi-dimensional cultural hub. By integrating a dedicated, high-quality pizzeria into its existing infrastructure of live music, outdoor recreation, and award-winning ales, the brewery is solidifying its position as a cornerstone of the Western North Carolina community.
Main Facts: A New Chapter for a Legacy Brand
The debut of Oscar’s Pizza is scheduled for a phased rollout. A soft opening, featuring a specialized event menu, will coincide with the highly anticipated 30th Anniversary Cold Mountain weekend, taking place November 13–15. A more robust, permanent menu will follow during the week of Thanksgiving, with a formal grand opening celebration slated for December.
The restaurant aims to elevate the "brewery food" experience, moving away from standard pub fare toward a refined, scratch-made culinary program. The menu will focus on New Haven-style thin-crust pizzas—characterized by their crispy, charred finish—alongside an array of salads and shareable plates.
The concept is being steered by Guest Experience Director Chris Genua and Head Chef Adam Jones. Their collaboration promises a menu that balances the nostalgia of traditional Italian-American cooking with the precision required for high-volume, professional kitchen operations.
The Chronology: From Dairy Equipment to Culinary Institution
To understand the significance of Oscar’s Pizza, one must look at the timeline of Oscar Wong’s own journey.
- 1994: Oscar Wong, a 54-year-old retired engineer, defied conventional wisdom by entering the beer industry. Using repurposed dairy equipment in the basement of Barley’s Taproom in downtown Asheville, he brewed the Gaelic Amber Ale. This act effectively birthed the craft beer movement in the region.
- The Growth Years: Over the next three decades, Wong’s insistence on quality and community-building helped turn Asheville into a national destination for craft beer enthusiasts.
- 2025: The passing of Oscar Wong left a void in the Asheville business community, but his daughter, Leah Wong Ashburn, has spearheaded efforts to ensure his influence remains at the forefront of the brand.
- Fall 2024: The announcement of Oscar’s Pizza serves as a physical manifestation of his legacy, bringing his love for gathering and hospitality to the forefront of the brewery’s 40-acre estate.
Culinary Philosophy: Where Philadelphia, New York, and Jamaica Meet
The culinary identity of Oscar’s Pizza is rooted in the diverse background of its lead developer, Chris Genua. A first-generation Italian American who grew up in Philadelphia, Genua’s trajectory included a twelve-year immersion in New York City’s competitive pizza scene and a formative stint at White Labs Brewing Co. in Asheville.
The New Haven Influence
Genua describes his approach as a "New Haven-style" pizza—thin, crispy, and intentionally charred. "Pizza has always been tied to family for me," says Genua. "I grew up making it with my dad and grandmother in Philadelphia, made it with my family in Italy, and later spent years immersed in the pizza cultures of New York and New Haven. Oscar’s brings all of those influences together in a pie meant to be shared with friends over a few Highland beers."
Honoring the Namesake
Perhaps the most touching aspect of the restaurant is the direct nod to Oscar Wong’s personal history. Legend has it that when Wong immigrated to the United States from Jamaica to attend the University of Notre Dame in the 1950s, he encountered pizza for the first time. Unfamiliar with the cultural norms of the box, he famously carried it home sideways under his arm.
To honor this, the restaurant has integrated flavors from Wong’s heritage into the menu, including a standout "jerk-seasoned meatball" pizza featuring a signature chili-crisp. The packaging itself will even serve as a lighthearted nod to his first "sideways" encounter.
Supporting Data: Operational Excellence and Culinary Leadership
The success of a concept as ambitious as Oscar’s Pizza requires more than just a good recipe; it requires the operational rigor brought by Head Chef Adam Jones. A native of Hickory, North Carolina, Jones brings a resume that spans high-volume kitchens in Charleston, Dallas, and Denver.
Jones’s role is to ensure that the "made-from-scratch" promise is met with the consistency required for a 40-acre campus that hosts thousands of visitors. His approach, described as a marriage of precision and creativity, is designed to keep the quality of the food on par with the quality of the beer—a crucial distinction in the modern craft brewery landscape.
Furthermore, the integration of Highland’s core beers—such as the Gaelic Amber Ale, AVL IPA, and Highland Pilsner—into the dining experience is a strategic move. The staff is undergoing training to provide "beer-and-pie" pairings, essentially turning the restaurant into a sensory laboratory for flavor exploration.
Official Responses: Keeping the Community Nourished
Leah Wong Ashburn, President and CEO of Highland Brewing, views the restaurant as an essential component of the brewery’s future. In a recent statement, she reflected on the dual nature of the project:
"He was one of the craft beer pioneers of the American South, and his commitment to high-quality beer was matched by the care he showed for his community, our staff, our family, and the people he mentored," said Ashburn. "Oscar’s Pizza is one way that we can keep nourishing our community in his memory."
The sentiment is echoed by the operations team. Chris Genua notes that the goal is to recapture the simplicity of the dining experiences Oscar Wong cherished. "Oscar embraced the simple joy of sitting around a table sharing food and beer with the people you love," Genua remarked. "We want Oscar’s to capture that: A pizza experience that’s both nostalgic and energizing, one that honors tradition while also redefining what brewery pizza can be."
Implications: A Campus Evolving into a Destination
The opening of Oscar’s Pizza is part of a larger, long-term strategic vision for Highland Brewing’s campus. In an era where breweries must diversify to survive, Highland is transforming its real estate into an all-encompassing lifestyle destination.
Recent additions to the campus include a new retail location for Black Dome Outfitters, emphasizing the brewery’s connection to the outdoor recreation culture prevalent in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Looking toward the future, the campus is set to undergo even more significant expansion, with Cultivate Climbing planning a 20,000-square-foot facility that will feature massive 45-foot climbing walls.
The Shift in Brewery Business Models
The move to incorporate a full-service, high-concept restaurant into a brewery facility signals a shift in industry trends. As consumer preferences move toward "third spaces"—locations that are neither home nor work—breweries are finding that food is no longer an afterthought; it is a primary driver for foot traffic. By investing in a high-concept pizza program, Highland Brewing is ensuring that its campus remains relevant for families, outdoor enthusiasts, and locals alike, regardless of whether they are visiting specifically for the beer.
Conclusion
As the ovens at Oscar’s Pizza fire up this November, they will do more than bake dough; they will warm a community that Oscar Wong helped build from the ground up. By blending his personal history with the professional expertise of Genua and Jones, Highland Brewing has created a space that honors the past while aggressively moving into a future defined by quality, hospitality, and, above all, the simple, shared joy of a perfect slice of pizza. Whether one is there for the history, the climbing, or simply a cold Gaelic Amber Ale, Oscar’s Pizza promises to be a place where the community gathers, just as its namesake always intended.
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