Local business alliances plan rally and demonstrations ahead of Anthropologie opening

The Asheville Grown Business Alliance has announced it will be partnering with UnChain AVL and The Asheville Music Hall for a special “UnChain AVL” rally and demonstration downtown in support of local businesses on Saturday, November 21, 2015. The rally coincides with the grand opening of the new Anthropologie location at 37 North Lexington Avenue that weekend as well as the city’s annual holiday parade.

Localists and supporters will gather at Asheville Music Hall at 10 a.m. on Nov. 21 for a light brunch and Bloody Mary Bar, with live music provided by local jazz maestro Lenny Pettinelli and friends. Groups of activists will also stand outside Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters throughout the day in shifts to engage with the public about the importance of supporting local business.

“We are organizing this event to raise awareness surrounding the issues and threats small, local, independent businesses in Asheville are currently facing,” says Franzi Charen, founder of the Asheville Grown Business Alliance and owner of Hip Replacements clothing boutique. “Our goal is to inform the public and decision makers about the value a thriving local businesses culture brings to a local economy.”

Following the holiday parade, the coalition of local organizations will hold a “jazz funeral procession” at 3 p.m. with members of Empire Strikes Brass and other local musicians. The march will begin at Asheville Music Hall and continue around the block and in the vicinity of Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters. “Our goal is to be good ambassadors of Asheville and small business,” says Charen, who insists participants in the march are dedicated to keeping things “clear, concise and friendly. We will keep all of our marching on the sidewalks to keep this a free-speech event, eliminating the need to make this a permitted event.”

Event organizers are seeking volunteers to stand with them in front of Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters and help engage with the public. Those interested in volunteering their time can sign up at ashevillegrown.com/unchain-avl.

In addition, Asheville Grown is encouraging residents to sign a petition calling for changes in the Unified Development Ordinance to protect and encourage small businesses in downtown Asheville. The petition can be found at change.org/p/un-chain-avl-save-downtown-asheville.

“Out of the 1,448 businesses in the 28801 zip code, 88 percent have less than 20 employees and 55 percent have 1-4 employees,” notes Charen. “It is not a large corporation’s responsibility to create community, it is their responsibility to turn a profit for their Wall Street investors.”

By supporting and encouraging local, small business growth downtown, Charen says that residents are not only making an investment in their community and expanding the local job market, but preserving the unique atmosphere that attracts thousands of tourists to the city. “Many of the tourists come here not to go to the mall but to experience something unique, something they cannot get in their town.”

For more information on the UnChain AVL rally on Saturday, Nov. 21 or to volunteer your support, check out ashevillegrown.com/unchain-avl/. To learn more about what Asheville Grown, UnChain AVL and other organizations are doing to support locally-owned small businesses downtown and around Asheville, visit ashevillegrown.com/a-downtown-worth-fighting-for/ or see the flyer above.

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About Max Hunt
Max Hunt grew up in South (New) Jersey and graduated from Warren Wilson College in 2011. History nerd; art geek; connoisseur of swimming holes, hot peppers, and plaid clothing. Follow me @J_MaxHunt

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4 thoughts on “Local business alliances plan rally and demonstrations ahead of Anthropologie opening

  1. Dahlia Winstrop

    Mr Hunt,

    You strike me as a man with an agenda that he has decided to conceal within a false claim of championing some other greater good.

    While I certainly understand the desire to protect a city’s unique cultural and aesthetic heritage, experience has taught me that’s better accomplished through zoning regulations that mandate what can, and cannot, be done to the physical spaces that occupy such historic areas, not by dictating via fear mongering propaganda designed to vilify anyone who is not “home-grown” who a landlord can rent to, and who is allowed to set up shop in your city.

    That, to me, seems to be antithetical to the American way of life in general, not to mention, flat out discriminatory.

    You also make a lot of very damning claims regarding the financial impact of local businesses versus national chains, yet you cite not a single study or source for those claims. That’s an affront to journalism 101, and assumes that your readers are sycophantic bafoons who take every word that you write as the gospel, with no need to back up your claims.

    Additionally, you certainly don’t seem to have a clue what you’re talking about when you speak specifically of Urban Outfitters and Anthroplogie. I can assure you that neither brand could be described as a cookie cutter type mall operation. They are both industry leaders known for the uniqueness of each location, the homage they pay to the history and architectural heritage of the communities in which they open stores, as well as their ongoing commitment to community through their partnerships with local artisans who are afforded the opportunity to set up market style shops within their stores, and sell their local arts and crafts.

    And the architectural beauty of the stores themselves is not only a site to behold, but something that I guarantee you can’t be found in your city anywhere right now. I challenge you to prove me wrong!

    In any case, I think you should be ashamed of yourself for presenting this highly opinionated, poorly cited article as real journalism, as it is anything but.

    Enjoy your day of protest. I’m sure it helps feed your need to feel important within your community. I suppose at the end of the day, I can understand, and perhaps even have some empathy for your position. When your a big fish, in a really small pond, it must be terrifying to suspect that someone is going to enlarge the pond, and thereby reveal your personal insignificance.

    Try to be strong. There will still be plenty of locals who will hang on your every word as you hold court, listening to yourself speak, late at night, in one of the many local pubs, long after Urban and Anthro have opened their doors.

    Your friend,
    Dahlia

    • Gary W

      Well said. Your comments were so on point. This is one local that will not ascribe my shopping habbits to their self serving “protest”nonsense. I will always support those merchants that offers a product that appeals to me local or chain. Just being local is NOT an entitlement program. This Unchain AVL propaganda if anything, has done a great service to Urban and Anthro, by encouraging us to patronize their business in protest of their silly and so called local activism. May Urban and Anthro thrive and prosper in our economically diverse and thriving downtown.

    • Max Hunt

      Hi Dahlia,

      Thanks for offering your opinions on this topic. I certainly appreciate your perspective, and am always looking for feedback on how to better do my job.

      That being said, I’m not really sure where you are perceiving this great bias or “agenda” on my part. I reported on an event happening in the community, around a topic that has garnered a lot of attention among downtown businesses and residents in recent months. I’m not sure what “damning claims” you are referring to that I made. Nor did I say anything disparaging about UB or Anthropologie as a company. Any quotes from other sources are their words, not mine. Could you please indicate what false information I have presented?

      I’m sorry that you found my work to be wanting, Dahlia, and am glad that you presented your perspective on this. Our goal at Xpress is to create community dialogue and I certainly welcome your point of view. If you’d like to continue the conversation, I’m happy to do that, but let’s keep this civil and not reduce ourselves to unfounded personal attacks.

  2. “Local business alliances plan rally and demonstrations ahead of Anthropologie opening. After that, y’all can buy whatever you want from them. We progressives have spoken. They have some REALLY cool stuff.”

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