Asheville businesses seek regional support for post-Helene recovery

ByGracee Mattiace, WLOS CNNWire logo

Saturday, November 2, 2024 2:23PM

Videos: Hurricane Helene leaves behind widespread damage in NCGov. Roy Cooper called Helene the most destructive storm in the history of North Carolina.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- The Asheville Downtown Association said downtown businesses are relying on people from around Western North Carolina to show their support as they begin to reopen after Helene.

FEMA reports that 40% of businesses don't reopen after a disaster, which is a statistic that groups such as the Asheville Downtown Association and Explore Asheville are trying to prevent.

In response, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority has opened applications for their Always Asheville fund, which gives grants to businesses affected by Helene in Buncombe County.

Hayden Plemmons, Asheville Downtown Association Director, and the Downtown Association are planning events to bring customers in.

A remarkable story of survival in Western North Carolina. Triplets survived Hurricane Helene as flood water surrounded their home and rushed into their house prompting them to think and react fast.

"We are really excited to launch a winter in downtown program," Plemmons said. "There's going to be holiday lights in downtown for the first time in a while."

"The winter windows competition is coming back this year; we're going to have the holiday jamboree in place of the parade - there's a lot to look forward to this holiday season," she said.

Restaurants are also experiencing difficulty reopening without access to potable water.

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"We expect that once potable water returns to downtown, it will really be a rebirth of our downtown restaurants," Plemmons said.

The Med Scratch Diner has been open for about a week using bottled water for drinks and cooking, whereas the S&W Cafeteria has been closed for about a month, but announced plans to reopen on Nov. 1.

"Most of our retailers are open you can check their website to see if they're open we've also been handing out orange balloons where folks can say oh okay that business is open and stop by and do your holiday shopping early," Plemmons said. "We're trying to kind of rally together to create experiences in downtown that will draw locals, draw regional visitors, those day trippers."