{"id":31169,"date":"2020-10-12T01:58:02","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T01:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/12\/former-pinckney-commander-opens-restaurant-following-personal-tragedy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:01:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:01:07","slug":"former-pinckney-commander-opens-restaurant-following-personal-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2020\/10\/12\/former-pinckney-commander-opens-restaurant-following-personal-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Pinckney commander reinvents himself, opens restaurant following tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) \u2014 Some who switch careers midstream and get into restaurants on a lark flounder. Others seem well-suited for the transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bob Byron falls into the latter category. The Naval Academy graduate and retired Navy captain once commanded the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/10\/07\/navy-warship-returns-from-nine-month-deployment\/\" target=_blank>guided-missile destroyer Pinckney<\/a>, named after a navy cook who earned a Purple Heart in WWII for rescuing crew members during the Battle of Santa Cruz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Byron was, in fact, the commissioning commanding officer of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/2020\/07\/15\/destroyer-pinckney-challenges-venezuelas-maritime-territorial-claims\/\" target=_blank>Arleigh Burke-class destroyer<\/a> when it was delivered to the Navy in 2003, but his Navy career effectively ended when he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/sdut-destroyer-captain-relieved-of-command-2004jun18-story.html\" target=_blank>was relieved of command<\/a> in June 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRelief is due to loss of confidence for professional performance as a commanding officer,\u201d a Navy spokesman told the San Diego Union-Tribune at the time. \u201cIt was not due to personal conduct or leadership issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following his Navy career, Byron went to work for General Atomics, which manufactured <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/02\/16\/air-force-announces-official-retirement-date-for-iconic-mq-1-predator\/\" target=_blank>MQ-1 Predator drones<\/a>, managing billion-dollar contracts with the Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now he\u2019s one of several owners of <a href=\"https:\/\/ryeknotco.com\/\" target=_blank>Rye Knot<\/a>, a brewery-distillery hybrid in Asheville with a menu of elevated pub food. This is his first hospitality project and his first formal stab at brewing and distilling since completing the Brewing, Distillation and Fermentation A.A.S. course at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s just another system, if you will,\u201d Byron said. \u201cThere\u2019s a system and there\u2019s a process, and basically my whole life has been engineering-centric. This was a way to apply that skill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was a way also to reinvent himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the fall of 2015, Byron\u2019s middle child Bobby Byron, 22, died after being hit by a car. \u201cHe was growing to be a hell of a man, and I\u2019m missing all of that now,\u201d Byron said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt had me reevaluate what was important, and the mountains called me back,\u201d said Byron, who was born in Asheville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He asked his financial guy if he could retire at 54. With his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/education-transition\/2020\/03\/19\/gi-bill-benefits-to-continue-despite-college-coronavirus-closings-after-emergency-fix-rushes-through-congress\/\" target=_blank>GI Bill benefits<\/a> expiring, Byron decided he\u2019d use them in a creative way: brew school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1199\" height=\"627\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Pinckney-returns.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32954\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Pinckney-returns.jpg.jpg 1199w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Pinckney-returns.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Pinckney-returns.jpg.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Pinckney-returns.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,535 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 1199px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">SAN DIEGO (Oct. 5, 2020) \u2013 The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) returns to its homeport of Naval Base San Diego following the successful completion of a nine-month deployment. While deployed, Pinckney spent time in the U.S. 4th and 7th Fleet areas of operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Woody S. Paschall)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He felt like a kid in a candy store, he said, trying his hand at making sake, wine and mead and distilling bourbon, brandy and a single-malt whiskey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey turned out fantastic, and I was like, \u2018Maybe I can do this,\u2019\u201d Byron said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Soon after, he signed on to join in on a project called Gudger\u2019s, but the partner who favored that name backed out of the business. Suddenly, Byron was the sole proprietor of a bar he never knew he wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was kind of all alone in the middle of an island with a lot of anxiety and no partner,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019d wake up, making lists at 2 a.m. and then get up and go to work. It made me a little crazy for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two veterans of the Asheville restaurant scene stepped in to help, and Byron renamed the bar Rye Knot after a marketing project he\u2019d created in his A-B Tech brewing class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shortly thereafter, Ben Dunbar, a former Biltmore Estate chef and a military veteran who worked as a parachute rigger right out of high school, joined the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He accepted a head chef gig with Rye Knot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dunbar said kitchens can be like the military in that everyone performs a crucial role, no matter where they stand in the hierarchy. The success of the team, he said, depends on finding the right combination of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen you get the right group of people, it works well,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd right now we\u2019ve got that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m so pleased I found him,\u201d Byron said of Dunbar. \u201cEverything comes out first class all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Byron\u2019s own house-made spirits are in the works. He\u2019s in the process of aging some whiskey, with rye, bourbon, corn and single-malt styles to come. Though most of it has two years to go, a small batch of rye should be ready by Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brewery-distillery hybrids, though increasingly popular, are rare. To Byron\u2019s knowledge, this is the first for Asheville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI could never had imagined myself as the captain of this ship, I\u2019ll tell you that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Navy Times staff contributed to this story.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The commissioning commanding officer of the guided-missile destroyer Pinckney has reinvented his life after enduring the tragic death of his son.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":32952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":25,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[29,117,13,15,43,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[8050],"class_list":["post-31169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-middle-column","category-military-honor","category-news","category-salute-veterans","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"SIYXQU2KPJGRNDOV25O3UBLSQM","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2020\/10\/11\/former-pinckney-commander-opens-restaurant-following-personal-tragedy\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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