Inspiring Conversations with Jamie Wade of Sand Hill Kitchen

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
I started cooking professionally around 1989 in Tucson, Arizona. I opened Sand Hill Kitchen in January 2017. The years in between were spent working in various kitchens in great places like New Orleans, Baltimore, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This diverse culinary journey, from the Southwest to the East Coast and eventually the South shaped my cooking style and philosophy. I was lucky enough to be taught by knowledgeable and passionate chefs who instilled in me a respect for fresh ingredients and simplicity in cooking. I eventually settled in Asheville, NC, and decided to give owning my own place a go. Sand Hill Kitchen is located in a BP gas station on the outskirts of town. It has been quite an adventure!  We have thrived as a business and have been recipients of many local awards and accolades. We are a part of the community, and we remain grateful to be here to serve our neighbors.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Operating Sand Hill Kitchen has most certainly not always been a smooth road. Covid, of course, was quite a time for all small business owners. We closed completely in March 2020. We were able to retain our staff and were lucky enough to receive funds from the government PPP and other programs to stay afloat. Eventually, we decided to open one day a week, citing a need to stay relevant. We only used the drive-through window for people to pick up online orders, and we were honored each week by lines around the block. It was a testament to our determination and the support of our community. Slowly, we added shifts until we got the five days a week we operate now. Covid issues continued far beyond our reopening, of course. We followed guidelines and did the best we could to keep ourselves and our customers safe. Restaurants aren’t known to be great money makers, so certainly, we have faced times of financial struggle. Over time I’ve managed to work out some kinks and get the cash flow working as it should or close to it.

Gas stations are interesting places spend extended periods of time. Over the last 7.5 years, we have seen some inserting things that could amount to struggles just due to our location. It’s always an adventure to see what the day will bring.

I appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Sand Hill Kitchen?
SHK is a small corner store business and we make sandwiches. Delicious sandwiches! We are known for our fried chicken sandwich which has won numerous awards in Asheville. We also make amazing Reubens, hearty breakfast burritos, deep-fried grits, pork belly BLTs, red beet sandwiches, and much more. Just about everything you get from us is scratch-made in our tiny kitchen. We are known for our friendly service and fresh, quick, familiar foods prepared with skill and our special SHK flair. We have a loyal customer base. It is beautiful to be able to sell these foods to our community, and I am most proud of seeing the same faces over and over again.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, so I have a lot of memories unique to living in that part of the world. It’s a magical place, unlike any place I have ever been. The foods, the music, and the culture are all imprinted on me. One favorite memory that stands out is traveling from Tucson to Texas to see family, most of whom lived in West Texas. It was usually about a 14-hour trip. We would ride in our orange Datsun station wagon. My sister and I would be laid out in the back on our rose-patterned sleeping bags, all the luggage on top of the car. My parents would always play Willie Nelson cassettes, and we would gaze at those beautiful Texas stars. I loved how dark it would get out there. My maternal grandparents lived next door to a woman named Miss Curlie, who made the best homemade bread a kid could dream up.  She would greet us with bread warm from the oven whenever we arrived, and my sister and I would completely devour it with salty butter. We are still determining how she always timed it right, light years before cell phones. But she always had it for us, and we always loved it. I love these types of food memories and how shape our appreciation of our history, community, and belonging.