Our Origins: the Tall John’s Story
Tall John’s is the realization of a long-term dream held by chef/owner Trevor Payne since childhood. The son of famed Asheville artist John Payne and former Biltmore Village café owner Chris Payne, Trevor grew up with a deep understanding of both creativity and the fundamentals of excellent food.
Trevor spent his formative years in Asheville and at Appalachian State University before moving to Portland, Oregon to build his culinary skills. Working in some of Portland’s greatest kitchens, including Little Bird Bistro and Clyde Common, Trevor’s goal was always to open a restaurant.
While in Portland, Trevor built both a career and a family, marrying fellow long-time Asheville resident Lillian Hogan and honing his culinary skills under great Pacific Northwest chefs. After 13 years in Portland from line cook to sous chef to head chef positions, Trevor decided to move to Asheville to be closer to family and start a restaurant of his own.
It was just down the street from Lillian’s childhood home in the historic Montford neighborhood that Trevor finally found the perfect place for his restaurant: the former church at 152 Montford Ave. Situated on a high point on the street, and with a noticeably lofty roof, the idea of height and tallness was on his mind as he worked with family and friends to develop the restaurant’s early identity. Ultimately, the name Tall John’s, a partial homage to his father (and local legend) John Payne, won. The restaurant opened its doors in October 2022, with a strong emphasis on a cozy, easygoing atmosphere that delivers high quality without pretention. Trevor’s early concepts such as frosty-cold martinis, roast chicken, steak tartare and other approachable classics are still an important cornerstone of the menu, even as the culinary team’s skill and focus evolves with time.
About Chef Trevor Payne’s Culinary Ethos
Tall John’s chef/owner Trevor Payne’s focus has always been on how the people in his orbit will experience the restaurant: comfort and pleasure for guests, trust and respect for staff, and, in particular, skill-building and mentoring for his cooks.
Trevor acknowledges the importance of his formative experiences learning from chefs such as Erik Van Kley (Arden), Jake Martin (Daphne), Gabriel Rucker (Le Pigeon and Canard) and Jason Barikowski (Hiyu Wine Farm), and is focused on providing a similar experience for those who work in his kitchen. This works well with his grounded approach to food, which focuses less on reinventing the wheel and more on persistent (and correct) repetition of fundamentals in order to achieve consistently excellent results.
At the most foundational level, Tall John’s is a product of Trevor’s deep pragmatism and focus on the ways efficiency contributes to quality. “We buy the best product we can, and we avoid over-handling it,” he says, by way of acknowledging that food doesn’t need to be clever or inventive to be good. His approach centers on cooking as a craft rather than an art, prioritizing the avoidance of unnecessary actions and the value of familiarity for both staff and patrons. In addition to building on past experience, Trevor regularly makes use of his extensive collection of cookbooks, part of which is stored above the kitchen bar (the rest occupies multiple bookshelves in the Payne family home). He has a librarian’s familiarity with those books, knowing just where to look in order to brush up on a specific technique or flavor combination.
In the end, the food speaks for itself. We can honestly say that Tall John’s is a very good restaurant. That’s all down to Trevor’s careful planning and oversight, in addition to the trust and respect he has for the team who help make it all happen.