Written by Sally Kestin, Asheville Watchdog.
That dreadful sense of loss. We’ve felt it time and again the past many days, over neighbors who lost lives and homes, over our infrastructure that lost the ability to provide for our basic needs, and over our beloved city and county, unrecognizable in many parts.
But Asheville has also lost part of its soul, the many businesses that attracted millions of visitors each year and persuaded newcomers to move here: the artists studios, the breweries, the restaurants, and the music venues.
They defined Asheville, drew us in and captured our hearts. And now an untold number are simply gone or so badly damaged it will be months before they return, if ever.
Almost half, 43 percent, of small businesses never reopen after a major disaster, and another 29 percent go out of business within two years, according to FEMA.
Establishments in the hard-hit River Arts District and Biltmore Village have begun cleanup and fundraising drives to assist rebuilding and the many workers suddenly left unemployed.
Here’s a roundup of just some of those businesses, images of the catastrophic damage they endured and ways to help.
The River Arts District:
Asheville Guitar Bar
“Our beloved Asheville Guitar Bar, the Cotton Mill Building, and our neighbors 2nd Gear, are amongst the local businesses in the River Arts District to drown in the flood waters of the French Broad,” Julia Goldthwaite, who owns the music venue with her husband, Mark, wrote in a Sept. 29 Facebook post. “In the photos you can see the water line a foot above our windows.”
“This is a worse disaster for us all than covid tried to be,” the post said. “So many businesses, artists, industry workers, and community, are struck down with no resources right now, and little to no hope of rebuilding or managing the responsibilities of daily life.”
“The Asheville Guitar Bar has touched the hearts of people from all around the world by sharing local music and community. It is coming back ten fold in our time of need,” said an Oct. 2 Facebook post. “To our Guitar Bar family from around the globe, your requests for a way to help us with immediate expenses is greatly appreciated, desperately needed, and brings us to tears.”
Details of how to donate can be found here.
plēb urban winery
“We are devastated with the loss of the winery and for all impacted in our surrounding communities. We don’t really have words right now but thank you to all our loyal customers and ardent supporters over the last six years,” said an Oct. 1 Facebook post signed by Chris and Lauren. “Thank you to all the artists, collaborators, partners, friends, and colleagues we’ve had the pleasure of working with on this journey.”
A supporter created a gofundme page. “Plēb’s staff will be out of work for the foreseeable future, and funds will be distributed to them first,” it said. As of Saturday, $27,096 of a $40,000 goal had been raised.
The Salvage Station
“Like many businesses in our region, Salvage Station was completely destroyed by Hurricane Helene,” the concert venue said in a Sept. 30 Facebook post. “Despite this devastation, our hearts are filled with gratitude that our entire crew is safe and taking good care of each other. We were even able to find our three Salvage Station cats who miraculously survived the storm and were eager to be fed and loved on.”
The venue was set to close at the end of the year because the property is being taken to build the Interstate 26 connector.
Salvage Station said in an Oct. 1 Facebook post that “we have been fervently working on our relocation plan. A huge part of our ability to rebuild was hinged on making the most of these next several months of shows, utilization of our equipment, and keeping our biggest asset, our staff, employed while we worked out future plans. We lost everything that we were counting on during this storm and anything you can do to help would be appreciated beyond words.”
A gofundme page said 100 percent of donations would go to employees “to survive during this devastating time,” and tickets to upcoming shows would automatically be refunded. The page had raised $32,176 raised of a $55,000 goal as of Saturday.
Foundation Studios
“Well Foundation family, it looks like our beloved building at 27 @foundystreet is toast,” said an Oct. 2 Facebook post. “We have been retrieving anything and everything that might be salvageable from the mud and debris, hoping to return it to the artists, or there have been suggestions of a salvage sale. That may not be organized for quite a while, as right now we still don’t have running water to clean everything up.”
A friend created a gofundme page to raise money for the artists in the building and to rebuild the studios. As of Saturday, $13,793 of a $100,000 goal had been raised.
12 Bones Smokehouse & Brewing
“As the floodwaters recede, we see catastrophic damage to homes and businesses, including the River Arts District, where 12 Bones was founded,” said a gofundme pageset up to help employees. “Entire livelihoods have been lost. In nearly every direction you look, everything is caked in mud and scattered debris. Broken wood and mangled wiring now stand where intersections once existed.”
Owners Bryan and Angela King’s “primary concern has always been their staff, and in the wake of this disaster, it’s no different,” the gofundme page said. “With the indefinite closure of the 12 Bones River store and temporary closure of the 12 Bones South location, their employees will be without a paycheck for the time being… One thing that would help immensely is monetary relief—something to help them get by until Bryan and Angela can get the restaurants back up and running.”
The page had raised $17,407 of a $250,000 goal as of Saturday.
Zillicoah Beer Company
“Through the fog of restless exhaustion, it feels impossible to find words that carry the weight of our hearts. Our crew is ok, and for that, above all else, we are grateful. Over the past seven years we’ve poured everything we have into Zillicoah with the concerted effort of brewing the best beer possible and bringing it to the communities of Woodfin and Asheville,” said a Sept. 30 Facebook post signed by Jonathan, Jeremy, and Parks.
An Oct. 2 post said, “Today we had the first of what will be many clean ups at the brewery. We’re not gonna sugar coat it… things are bad. …All we can guarantee at this point is that we’re going to fight to the bitter end to someday brew beer for you again.”
A gofundme page said more than half of the brewery’s equipment was gone and all inventory lost. It asked people to donate to life saving efforts first and “if you are in a position to also do so, please consider helping us rebuild our lives.” As of Friday morning, it had raised $46,213 toward a $100,000 goal.
French Broad Chocolate Factory & Cafe
The company’s co-founders “watched in horror as cars and telephone poles floated by our Chocolate Factory, and began to lap at the front door,” said an Oct. 1 Facebook post. “Fortunately, our team’s preparation in sandbagging prevented most of the water from breaching. The water rose to 39” up our front door.”
“Critical utilities (water, power) must be restored before we can start making chocolate again. This could take weeks. We’ve got a long hard road ahead of us. Humbly, we could use your support,” the Facebook post said. “Would you buy some of our chocolate?”
Company spokeswoman Sarah Nicholson told Asheville Watchdog, “We have lots of inventory on hand at our Distribution Center, which didn’t experience any flooding. Selling it will help us fund the business while we wait to re-establish operations.”
You can purchase chocolates at frenchbroadchocolates.com.
Wedge Brewery at Foundation
“The Wedge has always been a place for community. Now this beautiful community needs some help,” wrote Jay Monaghan, operations manager, on a gofundme page. “After hurricane Helene ripped through WNC, the River Arts District is left with some serious challenges moving forward. If you’re able, throw a little extra in the tip jar for our amazing staff.”
“Every bit donated will help our folks stay afloat while Wedge Brewing navigates this chapter of its story,” the gofundme page said. As of Friday morning, the “Wedge Brewing Bartender Tip Jar” had raised $10,473 toward a $20,000 goal.
Biltmore Village:
Antique Tobacco Barn
The 77,000-square-foot warehouse with “antiques, unique finds, and home furnishings” had water up to its roof.
A Sept. 29 Facebook post said simply, “We love you guys. We’ll post our progress as we make our way through this. Please hug your people and stay safe.”
New Origin Brewing Company
“Our beloved building we bought and made to share with the community is now gone along with everything inside of it,” said a Sept. 30 Facebook post.
Founders Dan Juhnke and Brian Fetting, childhood friends from Minnesota, “poured our hearts and savings” into the brewery that opened in August 2021.
“We didn’t distribute beer because we wanted it enjoyed in our space the way we intended it,” they wrote on a gofundme page. “What we didn’t plan was for the people who filled our building to become the soul of our business. And we enjoyed it to no end.
“Then as many of you know, Hurricane Helene hit. We fought as hard as we could with sandbags and water pumps ready. But we were no match. What we had made and given everything to, was now a pile of blocks and twisted metal.”
The founders wrote on the gofundme page that they thought flood insurance would cover their losses, but “that was not fully the case for us. We’re in a location that we can not build our building in again due to city codes. Without a building and all of our equipment missing, destroyed, and scattered through the river we now have nothing to our name other than an empty lot and a large debt owed to the bank.”
The appeal had raised $52,936 out of a $300,000 goal as of Saturday.
Brother Wolf Animal Rescue
“Things are bad. We can’t sugarcoat it,” the nonprofit said in a Sept. 29 Facebook post. “We have been completely devastated as an organization. The flooding reached a critical level that no one ever imagined. We thought we would have a few feet of standing water. Instead… raging flood water reached the top of our buildings, swallowing our vehicles and destroying any resources left.”
“We can’t even begin to process the loss of our shelter that has saved hundreds of thousands of animals since 2007,” the Facebook post said. “It’s now a disaster zone.”
All animals had been removed before the storm.
In an Oct. 2 Facebook post, the animal rescue said, “Small steps. Deep breaths. We are trying not to get bogged down in the magnitude of our devastation. The pain of our beloved region, our neighbors and friends who lost their lives, the loss of our shelter. It’s too much to comprehend.”
On Friday, Brother Wolf announced a $500,000 donation match campaign. “Thanks to a compassionate donor, all contributions will be matched — dollar for dollar — up to $500,000. This means that every donation made will have double the impact to help Brother Wolf establish temporary headquarters now, and eventually build a new facility in Asheville, to continue its vital mission of providing critical care to animals in need.”
Donations can be made here.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Sally Kestin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter. Email [email protected]. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.