Raleigh, N.C.’s food scene is on the upswing, just as the city itself is seeing major growth, and Chef Ashley Christensen is at the heart of it all with several popular establishments – Poole’s Diner, Beasley’s Chicken + Honey, Fox Liquor Bar and Death & Taxes. She describes Raleigh’s bar and restaurant community as always evolving, growing, and changing.
“We’re in a bit of a post-pandemic rebuilding phase as a city right now, but I am as optimistic as ever for the present day and future of food in Raleigh,” said Christensen of AC Restaurants. “There are lots of independent restaurants in Raleigh, and I think that’s a beautiful thing.”
Christensen – who draws inspiration from the local region – believes Raleigh and the south have a lot to offer when it comes to agriculture and aquaculture. “From the orchards to the farms and fields, and the North Carolina coast, there is so much to be inspired by,” she said. “There are so many incredible personalities as well, who steward the foodways of N.C. and the south as a whole.”
At Christensen’s restaurants, her overall cooking philosophy focuses on locally grown, seasonal ingredients, and bright and fresh flavors. It’s helped her achieve local and national acclaim, including an appearance on Food Network’s Iron Chef America and numerous awards, such as the James Beard Awards for “Best Chef: Southeast” (2014) and “Outstanding Chef” (2019), and the “Chef of the Year” award from Eater.com (2017). She’s also known for two cookbooks – Poole’s: Recipes and Stories from a Modern Diner (2016) and It’s Always Freezer Season (2021).
“I grew up around food,” shared Christensen, discussing what led to her career in the hospitality industry. “My parents grew gardens, kept bees, canned and preserved, and entertained – in a laid-back kind of way – often. There was always something cooking, and the opportunity to share hospitality with others was held high. Hospitality was a very natural fit for me.”
Christensen said she began cooking while in college, throwing dinner parties for her friends and family. That helped her recognize her passion for cooking and sharing food, and it ultimately led to her first professional cooking job at the age of 21. After working in some of The Triangle’s top kitchens (The Triangle includes Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, N.C., as well as the surrounding area), she launched Poole’s Diner in 2007.
Poole’s Diner: ‘Delicious and Approachable’ – All in a Shotgun Space
Christensen’s Poole’s Diner takes its name and its décor from the building’s original tenant, which was one of downtown Raleigh’s first restaurants. The shotgun space features an ever-changing chalkboard menu of comfort food classics, all re-imagined through her overall cooking philosophy and French-influenced cooking techniques.
“I think people just feel so welcomed there,” said Christensen, discussing Poole’s Diner. “It’s the nature of a diner. They are, by design, spaces where when you walk in, you just feel comfort. We work to convey that same feeling through the food and the service. It’s delicious and approachable, but we are also always working to take the experience beyond what is expected. It’s really fun work and I’m incredibly honored by the support our community has shown Poole’s in our first 16 years.”
The main menu at Poole’s Diner features items like coffee-brined pork loin, cornmeal fried softshell, pan-roasted sunburst trout, fried potato salad, and macaroni au gratin. Some of the desserts include strawberry hand pies with orange cream cheese ice cream, as well as banoffee cake with mascarpone frosting, dulce de leche, and caramelized bananas.
Christensen is currently working on expanding Poole’s Diner. “I am incredibly excited to give our busiest restaurant a little more room to operate, and to have the chance to put a little polish on the original space,” she said. “She’s earned it!”
Beasley’s Chicken + Honey, Fox Liquor Bar, and Death & Taxes
In 2011, Christensen opened Beasley’s Chicken + Honey, located in a corner building that was once occupied by a Piggly Wiggly. The restaurant is an ode to fried chicken and classic southern sides, with dishes like fried chicken, chicken pot pie, pork shoulder meatloaf, crispy Carolina catfish, hot chicken and pulled fried-chicken sandwiches, pimento mac-n-cheese custard, cider-braised collard greens, and more.
“I think what makes Beasley’s really special is the idea of having delicious southern staples next to fun new takes like our crispy black-eyed peas with cumin, or cheesy grit fries with cider mayo, and chow chow,” said Christensen. “All of this fun and approachable food, wrapped in great service and hospitality, and a full bar, plus a really excellent champagne list – because who doesn’t love champagne and fried chicken?”
Christensen’s Fox Liquor Bar – a renowned cocktail bar in downtown Raleigh – is located in the basement of the Beasley’s Chicken + Honey building. The menu features a rotating list of craft cocktails, as well as beer, wine, and bar snacks.
“It’s named after my father, Robert ‘Fox’ Christensen,” said Christensen. “It houses all of the art that he collected over his lifetime, most of it in celebration of the seaside town – at the tip of the north fork of Long Island – where he lived for the last 30 years of his life. It’s a really special place to me.”
According to Christensen, the cocktail menu at Fox Liquor Bar is a fun list. “It’s fresh and vibrant, and I really think there is something there for everyone,” she said, noting that the bar makes quarterly changes to the menu, based on the season. “We’ve got a really talented team, and I think of the menu as both inventive and approachable. There’s a really nice emphasis on zero proof and low ABV here as well.”
Christensen said she’s seeing more and more customers who are no longer drinking alcohol, or they drink far less. In fact, she no longer drinks alcohol herself, so she said has some self-serving interest in the zero proof and low-ABV category. “We put a lot of energy into our zero proof offerings, and we are definitely seeing a lot of interest and demand in that market,” she said.
In the spring of 2015, Christensen’s AC Restaurants introduced Death & Taxes (D&T), a restaurant that celebrates wood-fire cooking with southern ingredients, as well as Bridge Club, a private events loft and cooking classroom. Notably, Death & Taxes was named a 2016 James Beard Award finalist for Best New Restaurant, and Food & Wine listed it as one the Best New Restaurants of the Year.
“It’s a really beautiful space,” said Christensen, regarding Death & Taxes. “I think the most memorable part of D&T is the woodfire grill – especially when the fire is roaring – and the wine cellar, which lives in the original bank vault. The former hosts of the space were a funeral home, followed by a series of banks – hence the name, Death & Taxes.”
On Updating Menus, Fishmongers, and Regenerative Farming
When asked about her all-time favorite dishes at her restaurants, Christensen said she’s not really great at picking favorites, but she loves watching all of the dishes evolve over time. “No matter how delicious a dish is, there is almost always an opportunity to look at it in a new light and find ways for it to improve or evolve,” she revealed.
Christensen shared that each restaurant has a few items that never come off the menu. “We consider those dishes to be definitive dishes to the intentions of the menu and the restaurant,” she said. “Also, it’s fun to have some beloved dishes that folks count on. I think those dishes anchor us, and make folks feel more comfortable trying the newer items.”
In terms of updating her restaurants’ menus, Christensen said it’s different from restaurant to restaurant, but the changes follow the new offerings of each season. “With this in mind, [the changes] are most frequent during the spring and summer – so many amazing vegetables and fruits and, of course, all of the great stuff coming out of our waters.”
For restaurant owners and operators that want to update their menus, Christensen said the most important thing is to actively forecast for the upcoming offerings of the season, which typically inspire the changes. “It’s incredibly beneficial to start planning weeks before the fishmonger is at your door with those beautiful first-of-the-season soft shell crabs, for example,” she noted. “This gives you time to come up with great new dishes, and to plan for how the dish will be executed on the line. You can schedule in testing and tasting the elements that you’ll serve the new offering with, and you can plan for how it will be served in your busy restaurant.”
Regarding food trends, Christensen said she thinks a lot about regenerative farming right now. “I recently saw the documentary called Common Ground, and I was blown away by how simple the answer is to actually fix our food system, and to vastly improve the health of our people.”
Fostering Community, Loving Her Work
Since making Raleigh her home, Christensen has focused on fostering community through food, philanthropy, and the stimulation of the city’s downtown neighborhood. She’s also involved in a number of charities, including the Frankie Lemmon Foundation, the Southern Foodways Alliance, and Share Our Strength.
“I look for need and work that I feel a genuine connection with, and I look for ways to bring the bandwidth of my voice to that cause,” said Christensen. “It’s a real gift to love your work, and I feel real gratitude to do something that brings me so much joy. It feels natural to give back, and the community work brings me as much joy as the calling of hospitality.”
When it comes to her colleagues, Christensen is passionate about how the hospitality industry can work together. “I think we all need to keep working together – sharing ideas and data – on how to make restaurants more viable and sustainable as businesses,” she said. “We were all fairly shaken by the pandemic, rightfully so, but I think that time highlighted the extreme financial vulnerability of the industry as a whole.”
Advice for the Bar and Restaurant Industry
As a chef and owner of a successful hospitality group, Christensen’s best advice for other professionals and hospitality group operators in 2024 is simple: “It sounds so basic, but you have to chip away at the big stuff one day at a time,” she said. “Plan for the future but find centeredness in what you can accomplish today. That’s what gets me to tomorrow’s work.”
Aaron Kiel is an editor, writer and public relations professional in Raleigh, N.C. He’s worked in the beverage, tea and coffee industries for two decades, as well as hospitality and technology. He’s a journalist at heart, but he also wears a PR and communications hat through his consultancy, ak PR Group. Aaron is a contributing writer/reporter for Questex’s Bar & Restaurant News, and he recently worked as the editor of World Tea News with Questex’s Bar & Restaurant Group. In 2023, he was a finalist and honorable mention in the “Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards” for Range of Work by a Single Author – B2B,” for his work at World Tea News. And in 2024, he was named a Northeast Regional Finalist by the American Society of Business Publication Editors’ (ASBPE) Azbee Awards, in the category of Editorial Excellence for DE&I, recognizing his article on Pride Month and the hospitality industry for Bar & Restaurant News; he took home the top honor (the Gold Award) for that category. Aaron also received a 2024/2025 ASBPE Diversity Fellowship award, supporting diversity in the field of B2B journalism. Connect with him on Instagram: @adventurer_explorer.
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