Husband and wife culinary team Trevor and Maddy Musick are settling in as the resident food partner at Cellarest Beer Project. Cassia, their Thai cuisine pop-up concept, is exclusively operating at the craft beer brewery at 395 Haywood Road in West Asheville.

“The vibe of Cellarest combined with being able to get a pint of beer and some food, it’s nice. It feels like a neighborhood spot for us,” Maddy Musick said.

Cassia’s menu rotates regularly with small and shareable dishes ideal for snacking on while enjoying a beer, as well as fuller portion entrées.

Eight years ago, a connection sparked between the Cassia founders, romantically and in the kitchen, while living in Austin, Texas. The cooks were dating when an opportunity to relocate to Minnesota arose. “That was the first time we ever started professionally cooking with each other. Since we’re both cooks, cooking at home was always a thing that we did and enjoyed doing,” Maddy Musick said. Meals they prepared together often gravitated toward Thai styles and recipes. “That morphed into, ‘Let’s go to Thailand,’” Trevor Musick said. “When we made the decision to go abroad after being together for a year or so, we decided let’s do a big trip, so Thailand was high on the list of places to check out.”

“This is the stuff we can’t always find in the States so this is the perfect thing for us to try to eat as much as we can to build these flavor memories to go back and recreate back at home,” Trevor Musick said. “That’s how the story of Cassia was born ― on our first trip to Thailand.”

Next February Cellarest, co-founded by Harrison Fahrer and head brewer Mark Goodwin, will celebrate its third anniversary. Fahrer said Cassia has been a part of the brewery’s journey.

Nearly two years ago, Maddy Musick began bartending at Cellarest, where she still works.

“Pretty soon thereafter she told me, ‘My partner Trevor and I do this Thai food pop-up.’ And I told her, ‘I love Thai food so we should definitely try to do that here,’” Fahrer said. “I try to support local and even more so our Cellarest family.”

In May 2022, Cassia served its first Cellarest guests from under a tent.

“Mark and I certainly know what it feels like when you’re starting a new business or when your business is taking that next step, so we wanted to support Cassia,” Fahrer said.

Fahrer said the quality of Cassia’s food reflects the quality and pairs well with craft beer Goodwin brews and described it as a symbiotic relationship.

“Her partner, Trevor, is as helpful and lovely and talented as she is, so it was a no-brainer,” Fahrer said. “They’re super wonderful people who are thoughtful about how they curate a menu and how they cook so they were very on brand for us.”

The Musicks invested in a food trailer parked off the patio of the brewery to act as a permanent serving station for the eatery and began serving Cellarest taproom guests exclusively in October.

“It’s more of a neighborhood feel that we loved when we were popping up there, and their beer and our food are fantastic matches, as well,” Maddy Musick said. “It’s something that we grew into and wanted to stay in West Asheville and pursue this as a business partnership moving forward.”