Editor’s note: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is expanding its food and dining coverage beyond greater Atlanta to encompass Georgia and other states in the Southeast. Watch the print edition of the AJC and AJC.com for more stories about the people, places and products that make this region’s food culture so vibrant. Let us know what you think about our expanded coverage. Email Food and Dining Editor Ligaya Figueras: ligaya.figueras@ajc.com.
Located an hour west of Appalachian dining hub Asheville, the town of Sylva, North Carolina, quietly has drawn a sophisticated crowd of culinary entrepreneurs, made up of both natives and newcomers who hadn’t even heard of the town until a few years ago.
Yet, all of them share a deep connection to food, craft and community. Sylva boasts enough impressive food and drink establishments to keep visitors well fed for days, and without great expense.
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
When Jonathan and Jillyn Rutt moved to Sylva in 2021, Jonathan started bartending at Innovation Brewing, a brewery that opened on the eastern edge of town in 2013. Now, the Rutts own White Moon Cafe and Dark Moon Cocktail Bar, known for breakfast sandwiches, baked goods and coffee drinks to start the day, as well as creative cocktails for the evening crowd.
Innovation Brewing has a family tree of people in their 30s who formerly worked for the brewery as bartenders and now own and operate businesses in the area, Jonathan Rutt said. “Sylva is a really good place if you are a younger person who has an idea and wants to do something.”
Entrepreneurs have taken advantage of the area’s affordable space, sense of community and hungry market, creating a food and beverage scene that is remarkably outsized and upscale for a town of 2,600 people.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
After operating two successful restaurants in New York, Kanlaya Supachana moved to Sylva and opened DaLaya Thai Cuisine, where she serves traditional Northern Thai dishes in a humble building located near a creek. She’s known for her khao soi (curry noodle soup), but other local favorites include pineapple salad and fish sauce wings.
Another New York transplant in Sylva is Antoine Hodge, former bar and spirits director at the Baccarat Hotel New York. Hodge was lured to Sylva by his friends and former coworkers, chef Santiago Guzzetti and sommelier Crystal Pace, who wanted to open a Southern Italian restaurant called Ilda. “It’ll be three years in January,” Hodge said of his Sylva tenure. “It’s the community that’s kept me.”
He added that Pace and Guzzetti “taught me that we’re not successful unless everyone around us is successful.”
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Pace was born in Sylva. Her Sicilian stepmother, Karen Matar, owned and operated Meatball’s, a vibrant Italian restaurant on Main Street, for 17 years. In 2019, Guzzetti and Pace moved to Sylva and purchased Matar’s former restaurant space, which had been vacant for several years. Along with Hodge, they opened Ilda in the renovated space in April 2019.
Heritage plays a prominent role at Ilda. Matar’s famous meatballs appear on the menu, and the restaurant is named after Guzzetti’s mother.
Hodge’s edgy cocktail list is another major draw, along with his warm, playful demeanor. Pace and Guzzetti call Hodge “part of the soul of Ilda.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Pace and Guzzetti also own the more casual Meatball’s Pizzeria, where the menu is split into two sections: Under 2023, you’ll find contemporary, Neapolitan-style sourdough pizzas, while the 1983 section offers traditional, Roman-style square pies. The restaurant’s location next door to Innovation Brewing makes it a convenient pizza-and-beer stop.
If you’re looking for a post-dinner drink, Main Street has that, as well. The Cut Cocktail Lounge is a curio-filled bar with a vintage vibe and a seasonal craft cocktail menu.
Next door to Ilda is Santé the Wine Bar, also from Pace and Guzzetti. An intimate space with a global wine list curated by Pace, Santé is the perfect place to cap off a day in Sylva.
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Credit: Ligaya Figueras
Comfortable lodgings also are available for visitors in town to enjoy the culinary offerings. Outland Great Smoky Mountains, just a 10-minute drive from Sylva, has chalet rooms and spa suites (starting at $139 a night). Owners Brett Stewart and Daniel Fletcher, who have close ties to Sylva’s culinary community, offer concierge service to help visitors plan their trip.
Outland Great Smoky Mountains also plans to offer all-inclusive getaways — some with a culinary focus — on select weekends, beginning in 2024.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
IF YOU GO
DaLaya Thai Cuisine. 1084 W. Main St., Sylva, North Carolina. 828-477-4945, dalaya-sylva.com
White Moon Cafe and Dark Moon Cocktail Bar. 545 Mill St., Sylva, North Carolina. 828-331-0111, whitemoonnc.com
Ilda. 462 W. Main St., Sylva, North Carolina. 828-307-2036, ildainsylva.com
Santé the Wine Bar. 470 W. Main St., Sylva, North Carolina. 828-631-3075, santeinsylva.com
Meatball’s Pizzeria. 414 B W. Main St., Sylva, North Carolina. 828-354-0248, meatballspizzeria.com
Innovation Brewing. 414 W. Main St., Sylva, North Carolina. 828-586-9678, innovation-brewing.com
The Cut Cocktail Lounge. 486 W. Main St., Sylva, North Carolina. 828-631-4795, facebook.com/TheCutCocktailLounge
Outland Great Smoky Mountains. 285 Lone Oak Drive, Whittier, North Carolina. 828-586-0251, stayoutland.com
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