Some eateries become favorite gathering places because the food invites you to slow down and savor the pleasures of a thoughtfully prepared meal.

At Rhubarb Restaurant in Asheville, fresh local ingredients inspire Appalachian cuisine that creates an environment where people naturally come together.

(upbeat music) - Rhubarb was created by John Fleer, who was the chef and owner here for the first 11 years that it was open.

So Rhubarb opened in 2013 and The Rhu opened in 2016.

- We like to call it casual fine dining.

I want anyone to walk in and have a good meal.

It is Appalachian-inspired.

My passion is local food.

- Opening a bakery and cafe, The Rhu gave us a chance to really showcase the talented pastry chef, Appalachian, and in particular Asheville products, and really highlight the connection to community and what we're doing in the food scene.

- A lot of the menu is tailored to what's in season.

Writing a menu to open a restaurant in January was very difficult.

Like, would there still be beets?

Would there be turnips?

Would there be the potatoes that I wanted?

I wait to get those texts.

Gaining Ground texts me.

North Farm texts me.

I go to the farmers market to get Lee's One Fortune Farm and Wild East Farm and all of those wonderful providers.

These are kind of my winter warriors 'cause they're who are showcased on the menu at the moment.

- Helene was tough.

You know, we were fortunate to be, we're on the high side of downtown, so we didn't get flooded or lose power for an extended period of time.

But obviously, the city being without running water for what ended up being eight weeks had to close.

We were fortunate to mobilize and be able to be involved with World Central Kitchen during that time.

Once potable water came back into downtown, we were able to open up the event space on The Rhu.

- Where I found my community and my ability to lend a helping hand was cooking.

So we were just cooking all the food that was being donated from all the restaurants in town because no one was open and serving the community every day.

So in our staff of about eight back of house employees, including our long-term chef de cuisine and our long-term sous chefs, all of them relocated except for two.

So we lost the majority of our back of house staff.

So it's been a very strange journey, but I am so grateful to get to give it a new life and to bring it back.

And Mallory is deeply creative and energetic and wonderful.

The team that we have hired is excited to be in this space.

- I think everyone's excited.

I think that they're curious to see what we'll do moving forward.

The community loves Rue Barb, so it should just come back the way we left it.

- I love coming to Rue Barb 'cause I can just swing by after work and get to have something that's really fresh and unique and super casual.

I can just sit at the bar and have a friend make me a cocktail with fresh carrot juice.

I mean, it's technically healthy, right?

- Tonight I got the wood grilled chicken hearts with a mushroom cassoulet.

I love it because the hearts themselves are really rich.

I was expecting chicken liver, but it's not quite that.

It's like a small plate, but it eats big.

It's really nice.

- I want this to be a restaurant where I would go and eat.

Where there's dishes on the menu that only kitchen people would order.

I mean, kitchen people are gonna order chicken hearts.

It's weird, it's fun, but it's approachable.

- I love Rue Barb as a restaurant because I feel like it's somewhere where I can have a nice, cozy date, but it's also somewhere where I could bring a group of girlfriends.

I feel taken care of when I eat here.

I feel like there's stewardship in terms of the ingredients and how they're sourced.

- So when you read our menu, yes, you'll see components, and you may or may not be familiar with what some of those are, but I promise you it's not pretentious or out of reach.

It is accessible food, and it's food that's grown here, that feel at once familiar and comforting, but also innovative and new, and maybe a little bit surprising.

- Rhubarb is located at 7 Southwest Pack Square in Asheville.

For reservations, menus, hours, and additional information, visit them online at rhubarbasheville.com.