Oscar's Pizza will soft open on Highland Brewing's 40-acre Asheville campus during the 30th Anniversary Cold Mountain weekend, Nov. 13–15, before a full menu launch the week of Thanksgiving and a grand opening event in December.

The pizzeria honors Oscar Wong, Highland's founder, who died in 2025. Wong brewed Asheville's first craft beer, Gaelic Amber Ale, in 1994 on refurbished dairy equipment in the basement of Barley's, a downtown pub. He was 54 and a retired engineer at the time. Locals later called him the Godfather of Asheville craft beer.

The announcement contains no unit counts, check averages, or pricing details. Highland has not disclosed buildout costs, expected covers, or labor plans. What the company has disclosed is a concept and a leadership team.

Who is building the menu?

Guest Experience Director Chris Genua leads concept development alongside Head Chef Adam Jones. Genua, a first-generation Italian American raised in Philadelphia, made pizza as a child with his grandmother and later with family in Italy. He spent 12 years in New York's restaurant culture and served as opening general manager of Brooklyn's The Double Windsor for six years. He then moved to Asheville and led the pizza concept for White Labs Brewing Co.

His menu draws on Philadelphia, New York, and Southern Italian influences to build a New Haven-style pie. The kitchen will serve made-from-scratch thin and crispy pizzas, salads, and shareables.

"Pizza has always been tied to family for me. I grew up making it with my dad and grandmother in Philadelphia, made it with my family in Italy, and later spent years immersed in the pizza cultures of New York and New Haven," Genua said. "Oscar's brings all of those influences together in a thin, crispy, charred pie meant to be shared with friends over a few Highland beers."

Jones, a Hickory, North Carolina, native, trained in Asheville and cooked across Charleston, Denver, and Dallas. He has opened new restaurant concepts and run high-volume kitchens. That background suggests Highland is building for throughput, not a pop-up.

How does the concept honor Wong?

The menu curates flavors from Wong's heritage, including a chili-crisp and jerk-seasoned meatball pizza. Wong immigrated from Jamaica to attend the University of Notre Dame in the 1950s. His first pizza encounter ended with him carrying the box home sideways under his arm, unsure what to do with it. The box design will reference that story.

"He was one of the craft beer pioneers of the American South, and his commitment to high-quality beer was matched by the care he showed for our community, our staff, our family and the people he mentored," said Leah Wong Ashburn, Wong's daughter and president and CEO of Highland Brewing. "Oscar's Pizza is one way that we can keep nourishing our community in his memory."

What does the pizza do for the beer business?

Beer pairing sits at the center of the menu engineering. The food program is designed around Highland favorites including Gaelic Amber Ale, AVL IPA, and Highland Pilsner, and staff will offer pairing suggestions. That ties the kitchen directly to taproom sales rather than treating food as an add-on.

Oscar's Pizza joins Black Dome Outfitters' recently opened retail location on the campus. Cultivate Climbing plans a 20,000-square-foot rope-climbing facility with 45-foot walls as the next phase. Highland is positioning the property as a destination for beer, food, live music, and outdoor recreation.

"Oscar embraced the simple joy of sitting around a table sharing food and beer with the people you love," Genua said. "We want Oscar's to capture that: a pizza experience that's both nostalgic and energizing, one that honors tradition while also redefining what brewery pizza can be."

Whether the concept redefines anything will show in covers and check averages, not sentiment. The November soft open will provide the first operational test.