Entry No. 45 — the Asheville file — filed under: speakeasy
One World Brewing (downtown taproom)
One World's original taproom is a basement operation in the most literal sense: the brewery's own directions say to navigate to Farm Burger at 10 Patton, follow the alley under the string lights to a stairwell, and keep going two floors down to the bottom level — 'no password required.' What's down there is a windowless, cozy room the brewery itself calls a speakeasy-style space, with the original nano-brewhouse visible from the bar, board games and darts on hand, and the full One World lineup on tap alongside wine and cider. It has been pouring underground since 2014 while the sidewalk crowd above orders burgers, mostly unaware of the floor count below them.
→ Three more hidden bars & speakeasies in Asheville — never the same twice
The story
One World Brewing started in Jay and Lisa Schutz’s house. Jay had home-brewed for years alongside running a stonemasonry business, and when Lisa’s brother offered them the basement beneath the new location of his downtown restaurant, they took the leap. In 2014 the first One World opened in that space — the bottom floor below Farm Burger at 10 Patton Ave, a windowless room the brewery itself describes as cozy and speakeasy-style. Explore Asheville still files it as a small-batch hand-craft nano-brewery and ale house, which is accurate right down to the scale of the tanks.
Getting in is the part people remember, and the brewery publishes the only reliable directions: navigate to Farm Burger at 10 Patton Ave, follow the alley under the string lights to the stairwell, and keep descending to the bottom level, two floors down. “No password required,” they note; elsewhere they call the room the hobbit hole. Down there the original brew tanks are in plain sight from the bar, and the brewers sometimes are too. The full One World lineup pours alongside wine and cider — Ashvegas Pale Ale, Citra Bomb IPA and the Legacy Lager among them — and the entertainment is analog: board games, darts, and Sjoelbak, the Dutch shuffleboard game where you slide wooden pucks through four narrow gates.
Demand outgrew the basement, so the team spent two years rebuilding an abandoned West Asheville building and opened One World West at 520 Haywood Rd in 2018, adding co-owner Thomas Perry and manager Lindsay Andrasik. That location keeps the underground habit — its 10-barrel brewhouse also sits on the bottom floor — but adds an outdoor stage, patios and a yard. Downtown stayed small on purpose. Each month the brewery also picks a beer whose sales benefit a chosen organization.
What it's like
You will second-guess the directions, which is normal. The alley beside Farm Burger is the landmark, the string lights confirm you are right, and the stairwell does the rest — two flights below the sidewalk. What opens up is low-ceilinged, windowless and warm, with the bar at the bottom and the brew tanks in view. Order a flight, then claim the darts or the Sjoelbak board before someone else does. There is no kitchen down here; Farm Burger is directly overhead, which is the intended sequence. Midweek openings can run as late as mid-afternoon while weekends go to midnight, so check before making the trip. The stairwell is the only way in and out, so keep your group off it.
The move: Burgers upstairs at Farm Burger first, then find the string lights in the alley and take the stairwell two floors down. Split a flight, claim the dart board, and settle whatever needs settling best of three.
📍 Before you go Enter via the alley beside Farm Burger at 10 Patton Ave — string lights, then a stairwell, two floors down. As of early 2026 hours were Mon and Thu 12-11pm, Tue-Wed 3-9pm, Fri-Sat 12pm-midnight, Sun 2-9pm — note the 3pm weekday openings midweek. Phone: (828) 785-5580. Paid garages on Rankin Ave and College St are the parking play downtown.
- 📍 Asheville
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 10 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
Hours: Added 2026-08-25 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Pack's Tavern — Three blocks east and the historical rhyme: another downtown basement that moved liquor, except Pack’s did it through a Prohibition tunnel under Eagle Street rather than a stairwell strung with lights.
- The Crow & Quill — The other unmarked door downtown, five minutes north on Lexington — trade brew tanks and a dart board for candlelight and 800 whiskeys without leaving the neighborhood.
- Level 256 Classic Arcade Bar — If the darts and Sjoelbak land, carry on into the South Slope, where 30-plus arcade cabinets and pinball machines make the same argument at higher volume.
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Good to know
How do I actually find the entrance?
Navigate to Farm Burger at 10 Patton Ave rather than to the brewery. Beside it, an alley strung with lights leads to a stairwell; go two floors down to the bottom level. No password, no doorman. Phone is (828) 785-5580.
Is there a step-free way in?
Not one the brewery advertises. The only published route is that alley stairwell, two floors below street level. If stairs are the problem, One World West at 520 Haywood Rd is the sibling taproom, with a ground-level bar, patios and a yard.
Is there food?
No kitchen downstairs. Farm Burger sits at street level directly above the taproom, which is why the brewery uses it as the navigation landmark — eat first, then descend.
What are the hours?
They vary by day and shift seasonally: in early 2026 some days opened at noon while midweek waited until 3pm, with Friday and Saturday running to midnight. Confirm on oneworldbrewing.com before a weekday afternoon attempt.
Is the beer brewed on site?
Yes — the original downtown tanks are in the room, and the taps carry the full One World range including Ashvegas Pale Ale, Citra Bomb IPA and Legacy Lager, plus wine and cider. The larger 10-barrel system lives under the West Asheville taproom.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · exploreasheville.com · ashevillealetrail.com
last checked: 2026-08-25