Side B Bar becomes Black Mountain's new late-night music spot

Side B Bar has added something Black Mountain did not have enough of after dark: a place built to keep people out late. Tucked at 106 New Bern Avenue in the basement of the Monte Vista Hotel, the vinyl lounge has quickly become a gathering spot in the Swannanoa Valley, drawing both residents and visitors who want music, atmosphere and a more deliberate night out.

The bar’s own branding makes the concept clear. Side B calls itself “Hi-Fi in the Mountains” and leans into “late night lo-fi love,” “hi-fi sounds” and “global pours.” That is a different pitch from a standard downtown cocktail room or restaurant bar. It is designed around listening, lingering and turning a meal or show into a longer evening, which gives downtown Black Mountain another reason to hold onto foot traffic after nearby businesses close.

The business is registered with the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission under CRC Bar LLC, with Ruan Ellis listed as manager. VisitBlackMountainNC identifies the founders as Ruen Ellis, Christopher Melton and Christopher Campos, and says the business is LGBTQ+ and veteran-owned. The same tourism material describes Christopher Melton as a Black Mountain native, a detail that helps explain why the project feels rooted in the town rather than imported into it.

Its setting carries its own weight. The Monte Vista Hotel’s current brick building dates to 1937 and is a historic property in Black Mountain, which gives Side B a location that feels tied to the town’s past even as it helps define a new kind of nightlife. A local tourism write-up says the lounge was inspired by Japanese kissa listening bars, reinforcing the idea that this is meant to be a focused audio space, not just another place to order a drink.

A late-2025 local news teaser said Side B would bring a late-night option to town and that the drinks would be affordable, a combination that appears to have helped the concept land with a broad mix of patrons. That matters in Black Mountain, where tourism, arts and local social life overlap and where the evening economy can shape who stays downtown after dinner.

Black Mountain tourism materials describe the town, at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, as a small-town destination with an active music and arts scene, and Side B fits squarely into that identity. With live music already central to the town’s bars, venues and restaurants, the new lounge looks less like a novelty than a sign that Black Mountain is deepening its after-dark culture in a building with history and a room built for sound.