Emily Abernathy
General Manger
Emily began her journey with The Scheffer Group in the early 2000s working at the Savoy Restaurant, the first restaurant owned by Eric Scheffer. As a college student, she worked her way up and eventually became a manager, where she was part of the A-Team that helped keep the restaurant great. During the economic downturn of the late 2000s, Eric saw his community suffering and chose to close Savoy and reopen it as the comforting and affordable restaurant you know and love today as Vinnie’s Neighborhood Italian. Emily helped open Vinnie’s and hire the staff and managers before moving on to Corner Kitchen where she worked for the next several years.
In 2016, Emily and her partner created Chupacabra Latin Café, a relaxed, local favorite that offered a chef-driven menu with flavorful dishes and fresh ingredients. The restaurant won the top three for the Best Latin food in Asheville for an impressive 4 of the 6 years it was open. In 2022, the restaurant closed and Emily, who has a master’s degree in teaching secondary English, pivoted from her hospitality career to begin teaching 11th-grade English and Journalism.
Emily never really left hospitality though; she worked part-time in restaurants all through teaching and even worked briefly at Jettie Rae’s as a server. After 2 ½ years of dedication at Enka High, she felt the call back to hospitality full-time and left her teaching position to pursue other opportunities. Not long after, we warmly welcomed her to our team.