By Julie Matthews
Conveniently located in downtown Banner Elk between Beech Mountain and Grandfather Mountain, Stonewalls Restaurant is one of the longest running restaurants in North Carolina’s High Country. Each year this award-winning restaurant receives “best of” accolades spanning multiple categories, thus, steaking its place as a premier steakhouse and seafood restaurant. Stonewalls’ signature prime rib and fresh fish specials, with locally caught fish (oftentimes trout) arriving on the truck shortly before the restaurant opens for dinner, has secured its recognition as offering diners high quality cuisine and service. In addition, its onsite scratch kitchen produces freshly baked bread and desserts, and dry ages its meat.
Even so, the restaurant’s ties to the community and its culture are much tighter than just business. In 2016, when Stonewalls General Manager Scott Garland and Tim Heschke, executive chef, became business partners and owners of the already beloved restaurant, they carefully listened to customer requests to keep the salad bar, a favorite with locals.
Garland, a local himself, grew up in the area but then set off to attend culinary school at The Culinary Institute of America, while Heschke attended the New England Culinary Institute. Eventually Garland returned to the High Country region, which he now fully appreciates as a “very special area.” The business partners have made it a priority to be fully connected with the local community, supporting numerous children’s programs, including culinary classes in the area’s schools, and collaborating with the Avery Humane Society.
Year-after-year, Stonewalls hosts generations of guests in a comfortable atmosphere what Garland refers to as “casual elegant mountain dining,” describing the restaurant’s gray color palette and weathered wood décor as “Restoration Hardware meets country,” which includes pottery of local artists prominently on display. However, refreshingly, Stonewalls does not have a dress code. “You’re welcome whether you’re fresh off the golf course or ski slopes, or if you come dressed in a jacket and collared shirt,” Garland says.
Along with catering and serving amazing meals to guests of the High Country, Stonewalls is also a restaurant of choice for locals, including the second home market, particularly as a special occasions dinner destination for important life events such as wedding engagements and rehearsals, and high school proms and graduations. “We are part of the family for life,” Garland says. “We’re here to celebrate these big milestones with them.”
Wanna Go?
Stonewalls Restaurant
344 Shawneehaw Ave South, Banner Elk, NC 28604
(828) 898-5550
www.stonewallsrestaurant.com
