Owner of Black Mountain’s Trailhead Restaurant

interviewed by Dennis Ray

The Trailhead is the dream and vision of Michael Flanigan, a long time restaurant veteran.

Their food is cooked fresh and to order, offering everything from bar food to elegant seafood dishes. They proudly serve organic handcrafted brews from Black Mountain’s own Pisgah Brewing Company. They use local produce whenever possible. Their bread is fresh from City Bakery in Asheville.

Rapid River Magazine: Tell us a little about how The Trailhead Restaurant came about.

Michael Flanigan: After moving to from Taos, New Mexico about 8 years ago my wife and I moved to the Asheville area. We had a one year lease & once it was up we instantly knew we were ready to move to Black Mountain.

Both of us have worked in the area since. Since then we have bought a home here and began to raise our family. Working in the business for years opened up a opportunity to get something going of my own. Living in our small town & building relationships absolutely helped us get the ball rolling. We wanted to create a friendly menu with a family atmosphere.

RRM: Talk a little about your live music.

MF: Wednesday and Thursday nights are my favorite. Local musicians playing with and for anyone who walks through that door. Lots of our staff make their way to the stage those nights to take part. We are fortunate to have so many local musicians in the area (Kevin Scanlon’s Old Time Jam Wednesday and Steve Burnside’s Zydeco Jam Thursday). Thursday nights take on a cajun theme which makes it fun for the kitchen to come up with different specials.

RRM: You’ve got some of the best beer on top what are your best sellers?

MF: All local brews sell very well. It’s great to see the brewery boom in our area. There’s is a lot to choose from out there. We try to have something for everyone. Including Gluten Free bottled beers.

RRM: Tell us about some of your personal favorite meals you serve?

MF: The mussels are a tough one to beat. We are still a very young business and strive to make things better as we go along. We make over 90% of our dishes from scratch to keep things home made and fresh. The daily specials and soups are a collective effort from the staff and keep us inspired to do what we love.

The Trailhead Restaurant
207 W. State Street,
Black Mountain, NC
(828) 357-5656
www.thetrailheadrestaurant.com