Editor’s note: August marked Xpress’ 30-year anniversary. Throughout September we’ll be celebrating the milestone with articles, photo spreads and reflections from current and former staff members. Thank you for reading Xpress, and please consider becoming a member.
Most Tuesdays, Cindy Kunst, Xpress‘ distribution coordinator, arrives at the company warehouse by 6:30 a.m. to help unload hundreds of newspaper bundles (with 50 papers per bundle) from the delivery truck. It’s hard work made harder on days when there’s an avalanche — that is, when papers tumble inside the truck, splaying stacks all over the back of the bed.
The warehouse, located off Smokey Park Highway, is in an unassuming strip tucked behind a tire shop. Inside, boxes of Xpress archives dating to the early ’90s line the walls on shelves. I joined her there on a recent Tuesday — albeit not quite at 6:30 a.m.
With spreadsheet in hand, she organizes a pallet for each driver, prioritizing her early risers like Gary Selnick, an 80-year-old semiretired “fireball” who arrives like clockwork at 8:20 a.m. to pick up papers for the far-west route in Haywood and Jackson counties.
“[Distributing papers] is like putting gumballs in a jar,” Kunst explains. “Everyone has a different jar. My job is to spread the gumballs out over all the jars.”
Including Kunst, 11 drivers cover 611 miles to make 661 stops every Tuesday and Wednesday. Routes go as far north as Hot Springs, as far south as Saluda, as far east as Black Mountain and as far west as Dillsboro. Kunst makes additional trips to 189 of those locations on Thursdays to restock popular pickup spots.
As Kunst moves through the warehouse, ensuring each pallet has the correct number of papers, an aura of joy moves with her.
Since 2018, Kunst has spent nearly every Tuesday this way. “You get used to being invisible,” she says of delivering 23,000 papers to grocery stores, gas stations, bars and downtown street corners across eight Western North Carolina counties.
But even though you may not always see her or her team of delivery drivers on the streets, her presence in the Xpressiverse is larger than life.
Photography to delivery
Long before her days slinging papers, Kunst was slinging money around as a loan manager in a corporate setting in Washington, D.C. The work paid well, but it wasn’t for her.
“When sloshing $130 million around, which is chump change [in that industry], I see it for what it is — a tool,” she says.
Kunst and her husband, Cass, left Washington for Asheville in 2009. Instead of money, she finds moving newspapers to be much more in line with her ethics, as she appreciates Xpress’ hyperfocus on covering the local community.
Before overseeing distribution, Kunst contributed to the paper as a freelance photographer. For nearly seven years, she documented concerts, art openings, farm-to-table dinners, festivals and other news-related happenings, before she “inherited the fiefdom” that is the Xpress warehouse, she says.
In 2020, before COVID-19 disrupted daily life, she had her sights set on expanding distribution beyond the 27,000 issues being printed at the time. Instead, the pandemic shrunk the paper’s routes, limiting output to 13,000 papers each week. Those numbers have since rebounded, thanks in part to the relationships Kunst and her team have built with businesses as well as the attention she pays to every location and driver.
Miracle workers
“Cindy is the best boss we have,” says Carl Schwieger, who delivers the far-south route to Hendersonville, Brevard and Saluda with his wife, Debbie, and their dachshund puppy, Lilly. “She’s fun to work with.”
The Schwiegers, whom Kunst calls her “A Team” because of the distance they have to travel and the joy with which they do it, started working with Kunst five years ago. They’ve delivered newspapers for decades and currently manage some racks around town for Distributech, a regional distribution management company.
Beyond their personal affinity, the Schwiegers appreciate working for Xpress because of Kunst’s commonsense approach and willingness to listen to her drivers. For example, after hearing their complaints about a particular gas station on their route that is difficult to deal with, Kunst doesn’t hesitate, promising to take it off their route.
Before the Schwiegers pull away, ready for a full day fighting traffic in south Buncombe and Henderson counties, Carl proudly points to his tailgate. It displays a new bumper magnet, a gift from Kunst: “Delivery driver. Because miracle worker isn’t an official job title.”
Next to arrive at the warehouse is Joey Nash, the only driver who works with Kunst two days a week, helping to clean and repair purple Xpress boxes when they get trashed by passersby or the weather.
She hears his truck long before it backs into the warehouse and is glad to see him when he gets out. Nash operates a farm with his wife, Courtney Israel-Nash, who also runs her own route for Xpress.
After catching up on each other’s lives, Nash and Kunst discuss tomorrow’s box-cleaning projects, most of which come from downtown Asheville.
Nash will freshen them up, repair their windows and load them in a horse trailer. Later, Susan Hutchinson, Xpress‘ advertising manager, will haul the load off to her property and apply a fresh coat of purple paint.
Local matters
Not every driver works out, which makes Kunst especially grateful to those like Nash, who understand the job goes beyond filling boxes.
“It’s not just about getting papers where they’re supposed to go,” Kunst says. It’s also about building relationships with the businesses that carry Xpress. “Everyone shouldn’t cringe when you walk in the room. It’s all about if you can gel with the ballclub.”
Consistent physical presence in businesses, Kunst points out, can boost opportunities for the paper’s growth. And there are other, more personal benefits.
Nash enjoys making stops at businesses that are always happy to see him, such as Whit’s Frozen Custard on Merrimon Avenue. Meanwhile, Kunst’s husband, Cass, who is also a driver, appreciates the ability to pick up fresh corn from Davis Farms on his route in Burnsville.
Once most of the drivers have secured their allotment of papers, Kunst has her own small stack to deliver. She and I make a special trip to Xpress headquarters to update management. Along the way, she installs a freshly painted box near Pack Square, replacing the previous box, which her downtown delivery driver had flagged as looking ragged.
After two brief stops at the Asheville Mall, Kunst and I head back to the warehouse.
“That’s a Tuesday,” she says as she pulls in next to my car around 2:30 p.m.
As we reflect on the day, a neighbor in the strip of warehouses pulls up next to us.
“Hey Cindy,” they say. “Did you know that car has a flat?” They motion to my SUV and offer a portable tire pump.
It turns out this Tuesday is not over quite yet. But thanks to Kunst and a good Samaritan, I’m able to make it safely down the hill.
Her job is to deliver papers. But all day, Kunst, her team and those around her show they care about their immediate community. After all, local matters.
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