If I had a hammer: Asheville Hardware gets new digs
Asheville Hardware is moving from the Biltmore Avenue location it established in 2007, but will remain downtown by opening a larger store at 10 Buxton Ave. on April 1.
Since its beginnings, the store was heralded as a return of nuts-and-bolts goods in a downtown full of galleries and boutiques (see "Hardware returns to downtown Asheville," Oct. 10, 2007 Xpress.)
The store's employees say the move will help the business expand into new services like machinery repair and used-machinery sales, the last of which has been in high demand during the economic slump. Also slated for the new, larger space are expanded sheet goods, i.e. plywood, which is in constant demand thanks to the store's focus on woodworking. Store manager Rob Kimzey says the store also will work to grow its popular reclaimed lumber section. Meanwhile, co-owner Rebecca Gholson notes the new store will have a more accessible parking lot and a drive-in bay for loading materials, which she says will be an improvement over the first store's Biltmore Avenue parking.
The store's Biltmore location was slated to close its doors March 13 after a weeklong closing sale, and work was already underway preparing the new store.
We got … hospitality!: Career fair at A-B Tech
April 1 also will see the sixth annual hospitality career fair hosted by Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College's Hotel and Restaurant Management program. The fair spotlights careers in the industry, with last year's event boasting 40 participating companies.
This year, organizers are anticipating 30 recruiters from Western North Carolina and the Southeast looking to fill internships, as well as salaried, part-time and full-time positions. There will also be information offered on educational opportunities and how to "dress for success," among other topics.
The fair will take place from 9 a.m. to noon in the college's Magnolia Building on the Asheville campus. For more information, call 254-1921 ext. 7660 or e-mail hospitalitycareerfair@abtech.edu.
Missed the fair?: Biltmore and Pack's Tavern still on the hunt
Also on the job front: Two organizations that recently held popular hiring fairs have taken to social media to fill remaining spots. The soon-to-open Pack's Tavern announced that it will conduct a second round of hiring (www.twitter.com/PacksTavern) and the Biltmore Estate is also calling for more applicants (www.biltmore.com/careers/).
No experience necessary: Buncombe County warns against work-from-home scams
Buncombe County government's e-zine recently published tips to avoid pyramid scams masquerading as work-from-home opportunities. High unemployment rates and economic uncertainty have led to increased popularity of these rings, the Web site says.
"While working from the comfort of your own home may sound tempting, it is more imperative than ever that you safeguard yourself and your family from potential scams that go hand-in-hand with this line of work," the article notes.
For examples of work-from-home scams, go to: www.buncombecounty.org/news_Detail.asp?newsID=8823.
emPower aid: Wall Street businesses team up for Helpmate
The restaurants and shops of Wall Street will team up on April 10, donating portions of their sales from that day to the local domestic-violence agency Helpmate. The event, dubbed emPower Shopping, will include Early Girl Eatery, Spellbound Children's Bookshop, Purl's Yarn Emporium, The Market Place restaurant, Beads and Beyond, Fired Up! Creative Lounge & Art Boutique, and others, according to an announcement from the organization.
Organizers call the event "a fun way for all of us to help raise awareness about domestic violence and raise funds for a vital community resource by doing something many of us would be doing on a Saturday anyway: eating and shopping!"
Check out developing news of the event at: www.empowershopping.org.
Send your business news and announcements to business@mountainx.com.
From Rebecca at Asheville Hardware — just a correction from the above article — we do not have a parking lot this time, but we do have good parking right in front of our store at 10 Buxton!