Our story
A small idea,
honestly kept.
We didn’t set out to open a restaurant. We set out to make a room we’d want to spend a Saturday in.
Maple & Vine started in a single converted storefront on Vine Street with twelve seats and an espresso machine we bought used.
We learned, slowly, what kind of place we were — not a cafe, not exactly a restaurant. Somewhere in between. A place where mornings stretched into afternoons and the menu changed when the produce changed.
Six years on, we’ve grown a little. The room is a few feet bigger, the wine list has more pages, and we’ve added evening service. But the philosophy hasn’t shifted. Slow food, short menus, real hospitality, and the same people you saw last time.
Most days the door swings open and we know your name before you’ve sat down. We hope you’ll let us know yours.
“The kind of place you find by accident, then come back to on purpose.”
— Edible Asheville, 2023
How we got here
A few small steps
over six years.
2019
A storefront and twelve seats
We opened with a single second-hand espresso machine, three pastries, and the conviction that small could be enough.
2021
The bar finds its voice
We added evening service, a tiny natural-wine list, and a chef who’d been waiting for the right kitchen.
2023
A few more feet
Knocked through the wall, doubled to twenty-four seats. Same menu. Same idea.
Today
Patiently the same
Six years on, the regulars still know which seat is theirs. We’re grateful for that, and not interested in changing it.
Behind the counter
A small team, here a long time.
Eliza Park
Owner & baker
Started Maple & Vine after a decade in restaurants from Brooklyn to Copenhagen. Bakes the morning loaves before sunrise.
Marcus Hill
Chef de cuisine
Previously of Rhubarb and Cúrate. Builds the daily menu from whatever’s good at the market that morning.
Sofia Reyes
Beverage director
Curates the wine, beer, and coffee programs. Will happily talk you through what’s open by the glass.
Theo Larkin
Service lead
Runs the room. Remembers your name, your usual, and probably your dog’s name too.
How we work
Three things
we believe in.
Most decisions in the room come back to one of these. We get them wrong sometimes. We try not to.
01
Patience over polish
Bread takes the time it takes. So do conversations, second cups, and learning a regular’s order by heart.
02
Sourced with care
We work with the same farms, roasters, and growers year after year. We pay them properly and we name them on the menu.
03
A small, well-paid team
We’ve stayed deliberately small so that the people behind the counter can stay long enough to know your name.