Local businesses & the art scene

Encaustics by Georgia Smith are currently on display at the Early Girl Eatery on Wall Street

Paintings by Dustin Spagnola hang at Arcade Asheville

I've said it before and I'll say it again: some of the more interesting art in Asheville can be found in the restaurants, bookstores, record shops, clothing boutiques and hair salons of this town. It makes sense since business owners don't need to rely on art sales to keep their business afloat.

It's true such places can't get too overly extreme with the work they show since they often need to maintain a level of family-friendliness or appetite stimulation. Nevertheless, the contribution these venues make to Asheville's art scene is vital.
Maybe an "alt art venue" map could be drawn up to distribute to tourists this summer!
Here's a list of local businesses, in no particular order, that consistently display interesting art.

Harvest Records http://www.harvest-records.com/

Downtown Books and News http://www.myspace.com/downtownbooksandnews

PUSH Skate Shop http://www.pushtoyproject.com/
Clingman Cafe http://www.clingmancafe.com/

Bobo Bar and Gallery http://www.bobogallery.com/
Short Street Cakes http://www.shortstreetcakes.com/
Early Girl Eatery http://earlygirleatery.com/
The Over Easy http://www.yelp.com/biz/over-easy-cafe-asheville
Eclipse Salon http://eclipseasheville.com/

Wink Salon http://www.ilovewink.com/
Ananda Hair Studio http://www.anandahair.com/

Blitzkrieg Games http://www.blitzkrieggames.com/
Hip Replacements Clothing Boutique http://hipreplacementsclothing.blogspot.com/
Izzy's Coffee Den http://izzyscoffeeden.com/
True Blue Art http://trueblueartsupply.com/

Arcade Asheville http://www.arcadeasheville.com/
Rosetta's Kitchen http://rosettaskitchen.com/

Tod's Tasties http://todstasties.com/

It's hard to remember everyone! Let me know who I'm leaving out.