11/12/2025
Happy Veterans Day, You Filthy Animals! 🇺🇸
Civil War Captain John Keais Hoyt, the man who built Engadine Inn in 1885, served with the 3rd Alabama Infantry. Ironically, his second cousin was none other than General William Tecumseh Sherman.
After the war, Hoyt worked in New York at R.H. Macy, married Mary Elizabeth Bensel (Brush), and moved to Buncombe County in 1883 where Engadine was born. He later helped found the Western North Carolina Fruit Growers’ Association (1887), and his wines were poured at Asheville’s grand hotels, including the Battery Park Hotel, and even showcased at the 1893 Columbian Exposition and the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.
Fast forward a century, our current proprietor Alex Jarbo is a former Marine Corps Infantryman who served at 8th & I Marine Barracks, Washington D.C., and later led the Marine Corps 21-Gun Salute Team at Arlington National Cemetery, conducting over 350 Marine funerals in honor of the fallen.
Today, we raise a glass to our history, our veterans, and our fallen brothers and sisters.
Happy Veterans Day from The Engadine Family. 🍷🇺🇸