Straightaway Café & Pub announces permanent closure
Broad River restaurant and music venue will not return for 15th year
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
February 8, 2024
The Straightaway Café & Pub announced, Feb. 7, that it is closing permanently after 14 years. Photo by Fred McCormick
A Black Mountain restaurant will not reopen for its 15th year, the Straightaway Café & Pub announced, Feb. 7, in a social media post.
The decision to permanently close the venue, a longtime gathering place for members of the Broad River community, was a “difficult one,” according to owner Caroline Costello.
“It has been an honor serving you, getting to know you and making you part of the café’s family these past 14-plus years,” Costello’s announcement reads. “There have been so many wonderful moments that will continue to hold a special place in our family’s hearts.”
Costello opened the Straightaway in 2009 with her now-ex-husband, Ray Botham. All six of their children worked at the restaurant, which took its name from the stretch of N.C. 9 on which it operated.
“One of the hardest things about closing this place is that we all made so many great friends here,” Costello said. “We’ve hosted weddings, wakes and so many wonderful events over the years, and that obviously makes it difficult to say goodbye.”
Originally intended to be a coffee shop, the Straightaway was established in a former 1970s home in the rural community. Its initial menu offered Hungarian cuisine.
“We moved to Asheville from Alaska, and neither my ex-husband or I had restaurant experience when we opened,” said Costello, who began the venture as a silent partner while continuing her nursing career. “We had a lot of different chefs over the years, so our menu changed quite a few times, but the one thing that was always the same was the family-friendly atmosphere.”
The large property surrounding the restaurant once hosted a beach volleyball court, large deck and an outdoor stage. Reopening the Straightaway after it closed for the season earlier this winter, however, was not possible, according to the owner.
The Straightaway Café & Pub, a popular restaurant and music venue in the Broad River community, will not reopen for its 15th year. Photo by Fred McCormick
“Since COVID, it has become so much tougher to find staff, and we were only able to open four days a week,” Costello said. “We pay our employees a living wage, but we’re a destination location, so without enough help it’s impossible to stay open more than four days. We were losing money, and even when things were going well we were really just breaking even anyway.”
Operating the Straightaway, she added, was something she often viewed as a service to the surrounding community.
“It’s always been a place for people to just come together, but there were some things we needed to do to keep it operational and those expenses were really too much to justify keeping it open,” Costello said. “I still work full-time as a rapid-response nurse, so there was really no way to keep it going.”
The decision to close the Straightaway, however, was “incredibly hard,” she continued.
“I really want to thank Brian and Debbie Shaw, who were always here to help keep things going and became great friends of ours over these past 10 years,” Costello said. “I also want to thank all of the people who supported us over the years and truly made this place a community. We will miss you all.”