Entry No. 32 — the Asheville file — filed under: ritual-music
Zadie's Market at the Old Marshall Jail
Madison County locked people up at 33 Baileys Branch Road from 1905 until 2012; in 2016, potter Josh Copus and a handful of partners bought the nearly condemned building and restored it into a six-room art hotel with a bar and kitchen on the ground floor. That's Zadie's: an Appalachian-angled menu developed with Asheville chef John Fleer, local drafts and natural wine, and a patio of yellow umbrellas hanging directly over the French Broad River. Hurricane Helene put the river through the building in September 2024 — within days, more than thirty musicians recorded the Resonance Sessions in the wrecked stairwell to benefit local nonprofits — and the whole operation has since been rebuilt and reopened. Second Wednesday of every month, the bar hosts an Appalachian ballad night from 6 to 8 p.m.
→ Three more hidden bars & speakeasies in Asheville — never the same twice
The story
Madison County built the brick jail at 33 Baileys Branch Road in 1905 and kept using it until 2012 — a 107-year run that ended with the building deteriorating toward condemnation on the bank of the French Broad, wedged between a rock face and the riverside train tracks in downtown Marshall. In 2016, Josh Copus — a potter who digs his clay out of the local hillsides — bought it with three partners and spent the following years restoring it on one governing principle: keep the jail legible.
So the inmates' graffiti stayed on the walls, the window bars were reworked into handrails, and a homemade bedsheet escape rope hangs framed in a shadowbox. Neighbors hand-made bricks in a community project, and those bricks now form the patio and exterior walls. Upstairs became a six-room art hotel — four suites, one of them in the former sheriff's office, plus two bunk rooms — furnished with Copus's pottery and flowers from his partner Emily's Carolina Flowers farm. Downstairs, where the dispatcher's office used to be, is Zadie's Market: restaurant, bar, and small grocery, its Appalachian-leaning menu developed with Asheville chef John Fleer, local beer and natural wine behind the bar, and a line of yellow umbrellas shading a patio that hangs directly over the river.
That river is also the plot twist. In September 2024, Hurricane Helene sent the French Broad through the building; within days, more than thirty artists — ballad singers Sheila Kay Adams and Donna Ray Norton among them — recorded the Resonance Sessions in the flooded stairwell, with proceeds going to the Madison County Arts Council and Rare Bird Cultural Arts. The whole operation has since been rebuilt and reopened: walk-in only, ballads on the second Wednesday of the month, bands Thursday through Saturday.
What it's like
It's about twenty miles — half an hour — north of Asheville, most of it tracking the French Broad on US 25/70 before you drop into Marshall's one-street downtown. There are no reservations; you walk in and take what's open, and the choice is between the indoor bar, where the jail's bones are most visible, and the river patio under the yellow umbrellas, where passing trains rate as entertainment. The menu is contemporary casual American with an Appalachian angle, sourced from Blue Ridge farms; hours run Wednesday through Saturday 11 to 9 and Sunday 11 to 7. On second Wednesdays, claim a table before the 6 p.m. ballad night — unaccompanied singing rewards a quiet room — and if the river has been running high, check the website before making the drive.
The move: Pick a second Wednesday, leave Asheville around 5, follow the French Broad thirty minutes north, and take a patio table under the yellow umbrellas before the 6 p.m. ballad swap starts; order off the local taps, and if the night runs long, ask about the rooms upstairs in the old jail.
📍 Before you go Open Wednesday–Saturday 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–7 p.m., closed Monday–Tuesday; no reservations, walk-in only. Appalachian Ballad Night is the second Wednesday, 6–8 p.m., with rotating live acts other evenings. The building flooded badly in Helene (September 2024) and has been rebuilt — worth checking the site if the river has been high. About 30 minutes north of Asheville along the French Broad.
- 📍 Marshall
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 33 Baileys Branch Rd, Marshall, NC 28753
Hours: Added 2026-08-25 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- The Forge by Vikings Don't Cry — Jeremy Ramsey's Mars Hill forge is a short drive east of Marshall — hammer out a knife in the afternoon and arrive at the jail hungry.
- Hot Springs Resort & Spa — Keep following US 25/70 up the French Broad and you end at North Carolina's only natural hot springs — lunch at the jail, evening soak in Hot Springs.
- St. Jude's Chapel of Hope — The tiny always-open chapel in Trust sits on the NC 209 back way toward Hot Springs, turning the drive home into a loop worth taking slowly.
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Good to know
How do I get there from Asheville?
Drive — Marshall is about 20 miles north, roughly 30 minutes, with US 25/70 following the French Broad most of the way. The jail sits at 33 Baileys Branch Road in downtown Marshall, right on the river.
Do I need a reservation?
No — Zadie's is walk-in only, for both dine-in and carry-out. The six hotel rooms upstairs are a separate booking through the Old Marshall Jail Hotel site; the restaurant's number is (828) 575-7605.
When is the Appalachian Ballad Night?
Second Wednesday of every month, 6 to 8 p.m., with rotating live acts Thursday through Saturday evenings — the current lineup is posted on the website's calendar.
What days is it closed?
Monday and Tuesday. Otherwise it's open Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Did Hurricane Helene change the place?
The French Broad went through the building in September 2024, and everything has been rebuilt since — the flood is now part of the story the building tells, alongside the Resonance Sessions recorded in its stairwell. The patio still hangs directly over the water, so after major rain it's worth checking the site before driving up.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · ourstate.com
📷 We made a card for this one on Instagram →
last checked: 2026-08-25