Highland Brewing to Open Oscar’s Pizza, Honoring Founder and Asheville Craft Beer Pioneer Oscar Wong

Highland Brewing’s new restaurant, Oscar’s Pizza, will open on the brewery’s 40-acre Asheville campus this fall as a tasty tribute to Highland Brewing founder Oscar Wong. The pizzeria will soft open with a special event menu during the 30th Anniversary Cold Mountain weekend, Nov. 13–15, before officially opening with a more robust menu the week of Thanksgiving. Highland will celebrate Oscar’s Pizza with a grand opening event in December. 

As Highland’s 40-acre campus continues to evolve as a gathering place for beer, live music, outdoor recreation, and events, a food program inspired by Oscar’s passion for bringing people together is a natural progression. Oscar’s Pizza gives guests another reason to gather around the table while carrying the community-minded spirit on which Highland was built.

Oscar’s Pizza will serve made-from-scratch thin and crispy pies, salads and shareables, with Guest Experience Director Chris Genua leading development of the concept alongside Head Chef Adam Jones. Genua brings a lifelong obsession with pizza and Southern Italian food to the menu, while Jones brings extensive experience opening concepts and leading high-volume kitchens.

Genua, a first-generation Italian American who grew up in Philadelphia, has been making pizza since childhood, starting alongside his grandmother and later with family in Italy. After moving to New York City, he spent 12 years immersed in the city’s pizza and restaurant culture, eventually taking what began as a lifelong passion into a professional setting. His restaurant experience included serving as opening general manager of Brooklyn’s The Double Windsor, where he spent six years and helped develop the food program, before moving to Asheville and leading the pizza concept for White Labs Brewing Co.

At Oscar’s Pizza, Genua is drawing on those Philadelphia, New York, and Southern Italian influences to create his take on New Haven-style pizza.

“Pizza has always been tied to family for me. I grew up making it with my dad and grandmother in Philadelphia, made it with my family in Italy, and later spent years immersed in the pizza cultures of New York and New Haven,” Genua said. “Oscar’s brings all of those influences together in a thin, crispy, charred pie meant to be shared with friends over a few Highland beers.”

Leading the kitchen alongside Genua is Head Chef Adam Jones, a Hickory, North Carolina, native who moved to Asheville to attend culinary school before building his career in kitchens across Asheville, Charleston, Denver, and Dallas. Jones has helped open new restaurant concepts and led teams in high-volume kitchens, developing an approach that balances precision, creativity, and execution at scale.

Namesake Oscar Wong was a 54-year-old retired engineer in 1994 when he broke into the beer business. He began brewing Asheville’s first craft beer, Gaelic Amber Ale, on refurbished dairy equipment in the basement of Barley’s, a pub in downtown Asheville. He would become known as the Godfather of Asheville craft beer, paving the way for what would become a vibrant local beer culture and a leading economic driver. Oscar Wong passed away in 2025, leaving an indelible mark on the Asheville community. 

“He was one of the craft beer pioneers of the American South, and his commitment to high-quality beer was matched by the care he showed for his community, our staff, our family and the people he mentored,” said Leah Wong Ashburn, Wong’s daughter and President & CEO of Highland Brewing. “Oscar’s Pizza is one way that we can keep nourishing our community in his memory.”

Oscar's Pizza pays tribute to its namesake in more personal ways, including on the box. Wong had his first encounter with pizza after immigrating from Jamaica to attend the University of Notre Dame in the 1950s. Not knowing what to do with the box, he carried it home sideways under his arm. The menu curates flavors from Wong’s heritage, including a chili-crisp and jerk-seasoned meatball pizza. 

"Oscar embraced the simple joy of sitting around a table sharing food and beer with the people you love,” Genua said. “We want Oscar’s to capture that: A pizza experience that’s both nostalgic and energizing, one that honors tradition while also redefining what brewery pizza can be.”

Oscar’s Pizza is the latest addition to Highland Brewing’s evolving 40-acre campus, joining Black Dome Outfitters’ recently opened retail location and a growing lineup of food, beer, and outdoor recreation experiences. Looking ahead, Cultivate Climbing plans to expand its presence on the campus with a new 20,000-square-foot rope-climbing facility featuring 45-foot walls.

Naturally, Highland beer will be an integral part of the Oscar’s Pizza experience. The menu is designed to pair with brewery favorites including Gaelic Amber Ale, AVL IPA, and Highland Pilsner, with the Highland team ready to offer pairing suggestions to help guests find the right beer for their pie.