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Ash & Olive is located at 107 S. Railroad Ave. in Ashland. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Ash & Olive owners Gregg and Jessica Brooks (Photo by Kami Thacker)
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Seating inside Ash & Olive (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Local art adorns the walls inside Ash & Olive. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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A large communal table inside Ash & Olive (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Ashland is the self-proclaimed "Center of the Universe." (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
Gregg Brooks has lived a few lives in one. The drummer with yacht rock outfit Three Sheets to the Wind has balanced day (and night) jobs and gigging since first moving to the Richmond area nearly 25 years ago. He has bartended around the city and spent several years as head of production at local distillery Belle Isle Moonshine. In 2022, he launched canned wine collection Steely Can with his fellow bandmates. Now, Brooks and his wife, Jessica, are stepping into the role of restaurateurs. The pair recently opened Ash & Olive, a restaurant at 107 S. Railroad Ave. in Ashland.
“We came down here and looked around and watched families on the weekend, and it’s one of those deals where we love the town and the people have been so welcoming,” Brooks says.
For the past few years, Brooks has been working at nearby Wine & Beer Supply in addition to playing with his band. Slowly but surely, Ashland’s quaint aura began to charm him. When a friend suggested he take over the spot in The Depot that formerly housed an event space owned by Ashland Meat Company, he mulled it over.
“We had a serious convo, and I looked at my wife and was like, ‘You know how we always talked about owning a space?’” Brooks says. In February, they made it official and signed a lease.
Ash & Olive joins a four-block corridor of shops and eateries along the tracks in downtown Ashland, where scores of trains whiz by each day. The long and narrow space is dotted with four-tops; plush couches; a communal table at the back; and a small, L-shaped bar that seats 10.
Brooks previously spent 20 years working for Richmond Restaurant Group, mostly at The Hard Shell and the now-shuttered Europa. He also spent a lengthy stint behind the bar at bygone Southern favorite Comfort. Jessica works in communications, but her curiosity for vino led her to earn a Level 2 Award in Wines from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
“I worked for a lot of really successful restaurant people and always took a lot away from those experiences, like work ethic, but also learned from the mistakes,” Brooks says. “The menu is definitely my wife and I, aesthetics mainly my wife.”
During the pandemic, Brooks began experimenting with making his own dough and using an outdoor pizza oven, sparking an interest in cooking over a flame. While plotting their restaurant concept, it helped shape the vision.
Ash & Olive doesn’t have a fryer, stove or hood. Instead, the restaurant relies on a hearth oven. The European-leaning menu incorporates Greek, Spanish and generally Mediterranean influences. Diners will find snacky dishes including warm Castelvetrano olives; whipped feta with honey, pistachio and toast points; and “stone oven meatballs,” made with made veal, pork and beef and served with red sauce and a green goddess drizzle. Neapolitan pizzas, including classic cheese and Margherita — along with weekly specialties such as the recent Die Hard the Hunter, topped with salami, sausage and Calabrian peppers and named after the Def Leppard song — are a focus.
Dough is sourced from Hanover’s La Bella Vita Bakery, and Brooks says they practice a 48-hour ferment and create it to spec for the restaurant.
A not-so-common offering on the menu is the Panuozzo. A popular street food in Italy, the open-faced sandwiches are made by cooking pizza dough and then stuffing the crisp, warm foundations with meat and vegetables — options at Ash & Olive include prosciutto, mozzarella, arugula and olive oil; a vegetarian-friendly mix of red peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella and spinach; and meatball, marinara and provolone.
Among the other menu items are mussels and steak frites, a Tuscan kale Caesar salad, and hummus and grain bowls such as the truffle farro with broccolini, green onion and balsamic glaze. Patrons will soon find a stocked grab-and-go case, and brunch service will kick off in the coming months — breakfast pizzas included.
“The style of food is what my wife and I love to eat, more fresh and pure stuff,” Brooks says. “When you walk in the door I want you to say, ‘I just want to hang out here.’ Come in the morning and get a cup of coffee and pastry, come in with your friends and get a cocktail, share a bottle of wine and small plates and just hang.”
Ash & Olive is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Once it launches, brunch will be from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
