Small-business snapshot

Four years after the economic collapse we’ve dubbed the Great Recession, how is the Western North Carolina economy doing? Mountain BizWorks checked in with some local Chamber of Commerce directors to get their big-picture take on the past year and their predictions for 2013.

EDC releases statement, comments on New Belgium picking Asheville

PRESS RELEASE In conjunction with the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County (EDC), New Belgium Brewing Company announced the selection of Asheville, North Carolina, to build its first expansion brewery outside of Fort Collins, Colorado. The nation’s third-largest craft brewer plans to invest $175 million over seven years to build a state-of-the-art brewery in Asheville’s […]

Beer buzz: Workers, troopers seen at rumored New Belgium location; Gov. Perdue to make announceme­nt

This morning, city officials, crews unloading hay bales, state troopers and Asheville Police were swarming the Craven Street property rumored to be under contract for sale to craft brewer New Belgium. And this afternoon Gov. Perdue’s office announced she’ll come to Asheville Thursday to make an “economic development announcement.”

Changes celebrated at Buncombe County Health and Human Services Department

About 75 department heads, staffers, elected officials and others gathered Feb. 15 to celebrate recent renovations to the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Department building in downtown Asheville.
(Pictured here: Board chair David Gantt and Commissioner Carol Peterson try out a new kids play area in the building’s lobby. Photos by Bill Rhodes)

National study finds economic incentives don’t create jobs

North Carolina and other states across the country are spending billions of dollars on economic incentives. But a new study released Dec. 14 by Good Jobs First finds that many tax credits, grants and subsidies require little job creation and lack wage and benefit standards. The study by the nonprofit research organization comes amid heated local debate over the effectiveness and fairness of such deals, with the Hendersonville County Board of Commissioners voting just a couple of days ago to approve a massive incentives package for a company rumored to be Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Beer Region, USA? Is Henderson County considerin­g incentives for Sierra Nevada?

The Henderson County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing tonight, Dec. 12, to consider granting economic development incentives for a company that wants to open a facility in the county. Will the move pave the way for Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. to build a massive new facility in the area? (For meeting updates, follow @JakeFrankel via the hashtag #avlbeer.)