Second Gear, Joey's Bagels to open, Neng Jr.'s expanding, Potential New Boyfriend opens, Krystal coming. Diamond Brand, Bold Rock Hard Cider, Vivian, Bottle Riot, Rosabee's, Little Pearl close
Asheville's small businesses are opening, closing and retrenching in Helene's wake
This newsletter sponsored by Citizens Fuel Co., a family-owned Asheville company.
The economic toll wrought by Tropical Storm Helene will be felt around Asheville in the days, weeks and months to come. This round-up is the first of an ongoing attempt to try and track the small business comebacks and closures, the new starts and the pivots happening right now. My aim is to dig deeper, identify trends and make more sense of it all later. Right now, it’s about just keeping up with the shuffling.
Here’s some of what’s happening right now, including updates on Second Gear, Neng Jr.’s, Potential New Boyfriend, The Love Cats, Joey’s Bagels, Olde World Christmas Shoppe, Krystal, Hi-Wire Brewing, Mabel Bakery, Fetch Dog Spa and more.
Second Gear, Asheville’s 20-year-old outdoor gear and consignment shop, is on the verge of opening in its new location at Westgate Shopping Center. Second Gear owner Russ Tower lost everything when storm floodwaters gushed into his business at 99 Riverside Dr. and washed everything away. Despite that crushing loss (Russ moved his store from Haywood Road in West Asheville to Riverside Drive four years ago), he and his team have forged ahead with signing a lease on the former Frugal Backpacker location and working overtime to get it up and running before Christmas. Russ told me the space will be slightly smaller than the 10,000 square feet he had on Riverside Drive, but he’s excited to have a high traffic spot that’s well-known to locals (Earth Fare grocery store is right next door) and easy for visitors to find right off the interstate. Second gear will be stocked with locally made goods, stocking stuffers and plenty of consignment gear. So get ready to shop when the doors open.