Businesses, homes, and schools on long road to recovery after Hurricane Helene

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Almost a year after Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, businesses, homes, schools and infrastructure are still on the long road to recovery.

One of the hardest hit areas in Asheville was the Biltmore Village area where many of the shops and restaurants are still closed all these months later.

The stores had to be gutted and stripped down to the studs after Helene.

These famous rows of stores were built 8-feet above ground as a protection from floods, but the beefed-up infrastructure was no match for the floodwaters.

ABC11 stopped by the Corner Kitchen, a 20-year-old Asheville dining mainstay popular for its everyday brunch.

Corner Kitchen was able to re-open last month.

Helene's flooding rose to nearly the second floor of the restaurant. It took until mid-October for the water and muck to recede leaving behind an absolute mess.

"Knowing what this place looked like then and seeing businesses come back and those not able to come back as a result of the devastation, it's humbling. It's really something to see. And puts life into a whole new perspective," Randi Smith said.

"We were here like 2 months ago and stayed at the Double Tree and none of this was open. And it was eye-opening and heartbreaking. So we come over here and spend our money to help the economy," said Pam Horwell.

Asheville's leisure and hospitality industry is down 10% in terms of employment, but it's doing better than nearby mountain town economies.

Nearby Rutherford County has seen up to a 50% decline in average tourism revenue.

So many businesses are having to recover and survive without much revenue this past year.