Charming coffeehouse with dining, an espresso bar & an ice cream shop connected by outdoor decks.
The 45th Annual Woolly Worm Festival takes place the 3rd weekend of October, falling on the 15th and 16th in 2022, in the quaint mountain town of Banner Elk North Carolina. We think it’s the perfect time to share some tips that will make your experience a good one while at the festival and getting to the festival.
- Yes. There is an admission cost to get into the festival because all proceeds are given back to our community to enhance our schools, children’s programs, and to promote businesses and tourism in Avery County.
- Yes. There is ample parking, but the free parking is on a first come first serve basis and non-profit organizations are authorized to charge parking fees for overflow parking.
- Pets are not allowed, other than Woolly Worms. We regret that Doggie Daycare will not be available. PLEASE DO NOT BRING YOUR PETS.
- Yes. VISA and Mastercard are accepted for festival admission.
What a great time to think of the holidays. Purchase great handcrafted wares from our juried artists, ranging from fun items to those for decorating your house with amazing furniture. Who wouldn’t love a nice piece of jewelry or pottery under the Christmas tree? Admission tickets can be purchased online at WoollyWorm.com so there is no need to stand in line as there is a limited number of races, it is important to register to race your worm as soon as you arrive at the festival! Remember, the winning Woolly Worm on Saturday earns the esteemed honor of predicting the High Country’s winter weather and receives a huge pot of $$$ – $1000 to be exact! If you can’t make it to the festival on Saturday – don’t worry – we begin the fun again on Sunday from 9am until 4pm. The fun starts Saturday morning at 9am and the woolly worm races begin shortly after with Mr. Woolly Worm and Merryweather leading the fun! On Sunday at 1:00 is the Corporate Woolly Worm Wace. The winning worm earns a trophy and bragging rights for its business. Call the Avery County Chamber of Commerce at 828-898-5605 for more information.
The Italian style of cooking is simply great food to be enjoyed and shared with family and friends. Our name, The Italian Restaurant, is simple and that is as it should be. We believe in fresh, premium ingredients prepared with great care to ensure”simple, great food.” We offer savory, tasty appetizers, perfectly cooked pastas and hearty specialty dinners. All menu items are made with the very best products available. Sauces are prepared fresh daily in our kitchen. Traditional Italian pizzas and calzones top the list of favorites. Beer and wine available with your order. Party trays and carry-out are available. So, whether you dine in our restaurant or in your home, it can be said that “simply great food” is to be found in the mountains of North Carolina at the Italian Restaurant. Enjoy! Family owned and operated Celebrating 26 Years 1995-202
Old Hampton Store, Barbeque & Tavern will open the Tavern with live music on Friday and Saturday from 3-9pm!
Music is scheduled from 5-8.
Menu fare includes homemade soups, small bites, and desserts.
Check the Old Hampton Store, Barbeque and Tavern Facebook page for updates!
Old Hampton Store, BBQ, and Tavern serving local craft beer in Linville, North Carolina. Highlighting local folk art and pottery in the gallery next door.
We offer lunch and dinner and specialize in hickory smoked barbeque.We also have for sale local, artisan goods, pottery, and folk art, and more.
At 5,506 feet in elevation, Ski Beech remains the highest ski area in the East. Always a favorite with families, Ski Beech offers skiing, snowboarding, or skating on a 7,000 square foot outdoor ice rink. 15 slopes, 3 beginner, 7 intermediate, 4 advanced & 1 freestyle terrain area, as well as a High Speed Quad Chairlift! We
also offer shopping & dining.
Famous Brick Oven Pizzeria isn’t just a pizza place, it’s a destination all on its own! Along with the best pizza in western North Carolina, there’s an unbeatable selection of beers, a full bar, sandwiches, salads, desserts and more. The menu has Greek and Italian influences, and all meals are hand-crafted. This family-friendly destination has indoor and outdoor seating, free live music on Thursdays and Fridays in the summer, seasonal outdoor movies, an arcade and a mini-golf course with enough skills challenges and photo ops to please the whole family. Located adjacent to the Town’s free sledding hill, the restaurant is the go-to spot for an after-sledding hot chocolate or cup of espresso. Dog lovers will be happy to know that pets are welcome at the outdoor seating area.
Artisanal has developed an exclusive partnership with one of the top, 100% certified organic farms in the mountains of NC. With our exclusive agreement, the restaurant and farm coordinate the growing seasons to insure that the freshest ingredients are available daily. We can also experiment with produce that has never before been commercially grown in the Western North Carolina mountains.
Reid’s Café is a labor of love from Tina Houston, owner of Reid’s Catering Co. which has been established here in the High Country since 1999. At the base of Grandfather Mountain, Reid’s is centrally located between Banner Elk, Linville, Foscoe, and all the gorgeous Grandfather communities. Just as we value beautiful ingredients in our catering, the café procures the highest quality of ingredients for their seasonal menus. We value the handmade and fashion from scratch details as small as the aioli and dressings we use, to housemade focaccia and pastries, slow roasted meats and naturally fermented pickles. We avoid industrially grown and processed foods.
We serve regional seafood, farm goods from our local friends, amazing coffee from Bald Guy Brew of , as well as loose leaf teas and tisane from Bellocq Tea Atelier, with rustic handmade French pastries. We have all the things you need for lunch, dinner and in between–soups made to order, carefully crafted sandwiches, homemade sides and light, elegant salads, grilled whole fish, oysters on the half shell and hand crafted cocktails. Toward evenings, our emphasis on natural wines, sustainable, traditional, and with minimum chemical additives, compliment the Chefs’ choice of cured meats and cheeses. We have handmade cocktails and beer, too! The vivacious heart of the cafe resides in Jerry Cantwell’s paintings — exemplary compositions with colorways that resound and subject matter that is uncannily, but joyously soothing.
Your local Banner Elk Subway® Restaurant, located at 3579 Tynecastle Hwy brings new bold flavors along with old favorites to satisfied guests every day. We deliver these mouth-watering flavors with our famous Footlongs, 6” sandwiches, wraps and salads. And we offer a variety of ways to order—quick and easy in the app or online, convenient delivery, come into your neighborhood shop for an in-restaurant meal, or pick up curbside. We’re proud to offer a change from same old fast food with fresh cut veggies and toppings with protein choices, fresh-baked bread and let’s not forget cookies! And we’re happy to help you with any catering needs as well. All Subway® Restaurants are independently owned and operated by business owners who employ talented Sandwich Artists™.
Blind Elk Tap Room is the prime spot in Banner Elk to enjoy an impressive menu of rotational craft beer on tap, Prosecco on tap, and wine by the glass. We also feature a fridge full of even more beer labels, hard ciders, and hard seltzers.
Welcome to KETTELL BEERWORKS Banner Elk’s Brewery
Brewed in our facility by Banner Elk Brewing Company at 3715′ above sea level in beautiful Banner Elk, NC.
The brewery has a small kitchen serving some delicious goodies! Stop by the taproom for a pint and try some of our new menu items including pizza, pretzels, wings, and more!
We carefully create our beer on a 20 barrel steam driven system in our brewhouse which is all visible thru a giant window in our taproom.
For over three decades this establishment at the cross roads of state routes 105 & 184 has welcomed locals, visitors, newcomers, and students alike…and all have been made to feel at home. Through over 120 passing seasons this gathering place has become as integral to the landscape as Grandfather Mountain itself.
We are proud to present a modern reimaging of this “High Country” tradition: “Highlander’s Grill & Tavern!” Whether you hail from the coast, the mountains, the north, the south, the east or the west, no matter who you are or where you are from…. When You Are Here You Are A Highlander!
Laid-back fixture with locally sourced, hickory-smoked BBQ dishes, plus regional wines & microbrews. The Pedalin’ Pig opened its Banner Elk location in 2014 bringing fresh gourmet flair to some smoky down south favorites. With an entrepreneur at the heart of the business, owner Ethan Anderson set his sights to the smokehouse on Highway 105 last spring. The concept was simple-combine gourmet ingredients with a splash of High Country style. The unique dining area is fit to sit 185 of your closest family, friends and sightseers. We offer cozy inside seating or enjoy the color of the season on our patio —and don’t worry, our parking lot has room for the party.
Welcome to the Chef’s Table Restaurant of Banner Elk offering an eclectic menu featuring American, Italian, and Japanese dishes. Featuring fresh farm to table ingredients, award winning chef Nicole Palazzo creates a menu that offers the best of western North Carolina’s heritage and cuisine. Casual yet upscale atmosphere, the restaurant is perfect for a family dinner or a night out with friends. Available for catering and private parties.
Nestled in beautiful downtown Banner Elk, North Carolina above the famous Sorrento’s Bistro are the new exciting flavors of the Chef’s Table restaurant.
The restaurant started with the concept of cooking with fresh, seasonal, local foods and produce—pairing these exceptional recipes with local and regional wines. The ultimate wine country dining experience awaits you at the Chef’s Table restaurant.
Make plans to enjoy the beauty of the High Country and Chef Nicole’s magnificent wine country cuisine. We recommend making reservations to ensure that we can accommodate your desired dining time.
Refined American fare, such as quail & oysters, offered in an elegant, artsy space with a mural.
BBQ plates & Cajun dishes, plus craft draft beer, offered in a relaxed setting with outdoor seating.
Relaxed Italian dining spot in a shopping mall with Italian entrees, pizza, wine & craft beer.
Steaks, seafood & cocktails offered in a long-running restaurant with an old-school vibe.
Stonewalls Restaurant serves Prime Rib, Seafood, Gourmet Steaks, Fine Wines and Fine Olive Oils & Balsamics. Although we are located in Banner Elk, North Carolina, we serve locals who come from Blowing Rock, Boone, Newland, and Linville, North Carolina. Stonewalls Restaurant is located in downtown Banner Elk, North Carolina located in the heart of The High Country in western North Carolina.
Stonewalls has been locally owned and operated since 1985 and we pride ourselves on our exceptional service and value. Stonewalls offers the finest cuts of beef found in prime rib, sirloin, rib eye, New York Strip and Filet Mignon. Our chicken & ribs are second to none and we have a great lineup of seafood. Our chefs have been performing for years, and our buyer selects the best cuts available. Our salad bar is a destination for locals and for tourists.
Counter-service chain offering egg sandwiches, soups, salads, baked goods & a variety of bagels.
Barra Sports Bar and Lounge offers a little bit for everyone in The Village of Banner Elk. Barra has the following amenities; the Main bar with its elegant Boston wood look, karaoke lounge, mini stage, tequila bar, a new pool room, and an outside fire pit.
Throughout the year Barra hosts art festivals, beer and wine festivals and more. Barra also features weekly pizza, prime rib, lobster and fish & chips specials that you don’t want to miss!
Casual family-run eatery supplying Italian comfort food & pizza in an art-lined space with a patio.
The History of the recipes at Sorrento’s Italian Bistro in Banner Elk, NC goes back over 100 years to Sicily; making the family at Sorrento’s the third generation using these traditional recipes that we taste on a nightly basis. The family was located in the Southern part of Italy near the ocean, where the Italian influence of cooking included many seafood dishes; whereas the Northern region of Italy was influenced by the French using lots of butters and creams.
Sorrento’s Italian Bistro is a family run business and has been serving Italian dishes since 1983 to locals and travelers to the quaint town in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Sorrento’s Italian Bistro has evolved in to an eclectic gourmet Italian restaurant.
Now third generation family chefs, Nicole and Anthony Palazzo, continue the family recipes and have added their own new exciting dishes that are featured on our nightly specials.
Breakfast and lunch, outside patio,
Relaxed operation offering a range of Japanese & Vietnamese eats such as noodles & soups.
Bodega’s Kitchen & Wine Bar offers Caribbean-inspired fare and tapas style dining. Nestled in the beautiful mountain setting of Banner Elk, Bodegas has a casually sophisticated atmosphere that caters to date night and family time all at the same time!