Grove Arcade celebrates 10-year anniversary with party and video release

Press release

From the Grove Arcade:

In celebrations of its 10th anniversary, downtown Asheville’s Grove Arcade is pleased to announce a public party on Friday, November 2, and the release of a stop-motion video, created by local photographer Lynne Harty and featuring the music of Ol’ Hoopty. The video can be viewed on the website at www.grovearcade.com.

The free public anniversary party will be held on November 2, from noon to 8 p.m. featuring live music, refreshments and sales. The performance schedule is below:

1 to 2 p.m. – The Overflow Jug Bank

3 to 4:30 p.m. – South Forty

6 to 8 p.m. – Motown Blue

On November 2, several businesses are marking the anniversary with special offers and sales. Tic-n-Time is offering half off floor model clocks, while Thai Basil is discounting the entire menu by 10 percent. Visitors to Bath Junkie can get a salt scrub and body dessert for $45, normally a $53 value. Mountain Made is hosting a glass blowing demonstration and giving a free gift with purchase. Visit the website for a complete list of specials.

The iconic Grove Arcade reopened to the public in 2002, after an extensive renovation. In the last ten years the building has experienced a renaissance. The beloved downtown landmark houses 37 locally-owned shops, galleries, businesses and restaurants. Some establishments – Asheville NC Home Crafts, Enter the Earth, Fresh Quarter Produce, Marc Edward & Company Hair Design, Mission at the Grove, Mountain Made and True Confections – have been in the building since its rebirth. Others, such as Four Corners Home and Make Up at the Grove Arcade, have grown with the building.

Mountain Made, a regional arts and crafts gallery, was started by Mountain BizWorks. “We were the first store to open on the inside of the building,” said owner Melinda Knies. “The economy wasn’t great but we worked hard and knew that the renovated Grove Arcade was going to be important to this end of downtown. Like any other business, we have had our challenges, but our location in the Arcade is an asset and for those of us who remember the chain link fence and boarded up windows the ten-year anniversary is really meaningful.”

“The renovation of the Grove Arcade is a great example of public and private investment in a project that benefits our entire community,” said Ruth Summers, Executive Director of the Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation, which manages the ground floor. “It took vision, money and hard work to make the project a reality. It means a great deal to us that we have been able to support the growth of locally-owned businesses.”

The Grove Arcade offers extraordinary commercial and residential opportunities on its top floors. The second floor of E.W. Grove’s masterpiece houses offices, while apartments occupy the 3rd through 5th floors. E.W. Grove died in 1927 before seeing the building complete but he would certainly be pleased to see the building that he envisioned as the “heart” of the city bustling with commerce and life.

The Grove Arcade is located at One Page Avenue at the heart of the Battery Hill neighborhood in downtown Asheville and houses locally-owned shops, galleries, businesses and restaurants. A downloadable building tour is available on the website. Parking is available in the Wall Street, Rankin and Civic Center garages as well as on the street. Directions to the garages and the Grove Arcade can be accessed www.grovearcade.com. For additional information, call 828.252.7799.