'We could really use the support': Downtown Asheville businesses seek visitors after Hurricane Helene

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Tourism is a major economic engine in Asheville, North Carolina, generating hundreds of millions of dollars each year and serving as the area’s second-largest driver of growth, according to the Asheville Chamber of Commerce.

Spring typically marks the beginning of a busy season, drawing visitors as the weather improves. But this year, downtown businesses say the crowds haven’t returned in full force following the impact of Hurricane Helene last September, which caused widespread outages of water and power in Western North Carolina.

Now that the city is back up and running, some local business owners and employees say they’re not seeing the usual wave of tourists — and they’re calling on the public for support.

“The shop has been here since 1986,” said Eric Ciborski, operations manager of The Chocolate Fetish, a staple in downtown Asheville. “We’ve been trying to get back to as normal as we can.”

Ciborski said the storm and its aftermath significantly reduced foot traffic. Following a fall season that was “completely shot,” Ciborski says the holidays were slow. Now that the weather is warming up, Ciborski says business has gotten a little better, although it’s not at its usual pace.

“The foot traffic is definitely slower than it usually is this time of year,” he said.

Other businesses are noticing the same. Spiritex is a sustainable fashion company selling locally-made clothing.

Sales associate Maddie Grant says their business weathered the storm seven months ago.

“I don’t know how our warehouse held up, but it did,” she smiles.

But like others, they are still feeling the effects.

“Asheville relies heavily on tourism and that’s what we’re going to need to help rebuild,” she said.

Ciborski says he thinks the reason for people’s apprehension to visit stems from the national news coverage of the area.

“A lot of those little areas that were around here, Swannanoa, they were in worse shape than downtown Asheville as far as coming back. Locals kind of know that a little bit more…and we appreciate the nationwide coverage of this to remind people of what’s going on in this area, but I think a lot of people from out of town, they don’t know those surrounding areas, so everything’s been referenced as ‘the Asheville area, Asheville, Asheville,” Ciborski explained. “While Asheville still has some ways to come on recovering, a lot of Asheville is open and we need that coming in and it helps us, it helps the towns around us. We’re all a big community here, so I think that has also slowed a lot of the comeback here in Asheville with people visiting because people from out of town, the reference that they get of this whole region here, Asheville is kind of the center of what they can relate to or where they know that area is, so it’s kind of a double edged sword as far as that information.”

While visitor numbers remain lower than usual, Ciborski, who also lived in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina, expressed gratitude for the community’s resilience.

“I think in general, the response and the help that we’ve gotten here was much better than that,” Ciborski reflected. “The local community, the folks, the way that they bound together, got together, were looking out for one another, it really was some of the most inspiring things I’ve ever seen in the middle of complete chaos and destruction.”

To continue the recovery from that destruction, Ciborski says his community is looking for continued support from locals and visitors alike.

“Downtown Asheville is open for business,” Ciborski shared. “Most of the businesses are open. We would love to see you. We could really use the support.”

For a list of shopping, dining and lodging recommendations, visit ExploreAsheville.com.