Biltmore Village business owners: Helene recovery is lagging 18 months after storm
Sidewalk, lighting and stormwater infrastructure repairs are still needed, they say
This newsletter sponsored by Citizens Fuel Co., a family-owned Asheville company.
Several business owners in historic Biltmore Village told Asheville City Council on Tuesday night (March 24) that they feel Hurricane Helene relief and reconstruction is lagging behind other areas of Asheville some 18 months after the storm devastated the historic commercial district that sits across from the entrance to the Biltmore Estate, the city’s biggest tourist attraction.
“This past winter was one of the slowest economic seasons our district has ever seen, not because people don’t want to be here, but because the infrastructure that makes this place safe, accessible, and welcoming has not been fully restored,” Vanessa Salomo, co-owner of the Corner Kitchen restaurant, told council members.
“We want to be honest with you today. Many of our members feel left behind,” she said, emphasizing that the district was among the hardest-hit parts of the city in the wake of Helene, which struck in September 2024. While Corner Kitchen was one of the first businesses in Biltmore Village to reopen after the storm, several other businesses are struggling to bounce back, or have closed for good.
Salamo was one of half a dozen Biltmore Village business owners who described an uneven, block-by-block recovery that they say still leaves visitors walking down darkened streets, stumbling over broken sidewalks, and passing boarded-up buildings— conditions they warned are shaping perceptions of the city’s comeback at a time when leaders are trying to restore tourism, jobs, and tax revenue after one of the region’s most destructive storms.
