Without getting all sappy, it’s really something to see how community businesses and individuals are helping each other through this natural disaster.
“Many businesses are jumping in to help in any way that they can — land clearing and construction companies are getting out in the community and clearing downed trees, clearing driveways, etc. Plumbing and electrical companies are offering their services to people who need help. Restaurant owners are providing food,” Patty Beaver, interim executive director of the Council of Independent Business Owners (CIBO) in Asheville, wrote to Xpress in an email.
Sherree Lucas, executive director of Go Local, a network of locally owned businesses, wrote, “The only brick-and-mortar Go Local businesses I’ve seen open are the ones who are donating free food, water or coffee to the community. I also think a few breweries have opened to give our community a respite in the devastation. When I was going to the water distribution site at Pack Square on Thursday, I noticed Twisted Laurel was open and serving free food. … Not only are they serving their food, but Pack’s Tavern had given them food from their kitchen to use to feed our community. As I was heading home, I passed OldEuropePastries, which was serving free coffee, and All Day Darling was grilling hamburgers and giving them out free to the community. And these are only a few of the examples we’re seeing everywhere. Because there is no water, these places can’t open, but they’ve still found a way to serve our community. Amazing.”
The breadth of damage
While no one Xpress spoke with has a definitive number of businesses affected in Buncombe County, it’s clear that it’s a lot, either those whose buildings were flooded or destroyed or those that can’t open without power, water or internet.
“Go Local has about 650 businesses, two-thirds, or around 450, are brick-and-mortar,” Lucas wrote. “All of these businesses have been impacted. Some are destroyed or severely damaged. Ones located in the [River Arts District], Biltmore Village, along the French Broad or Swannanoa River have seen catastrophic damage. Businesses like Second Gear, Sugar and Snow Gelato, and Grail Moviehouse were destroyed. French Broad Chocolate on Riverside and Strength Ratio on Broadway, The Track and Cantina in Biltmore Village, were severely damaged. And these are just a few examples of the many we’re still learning about. I don’t have numbers yet, but conservatively around 50 businesses in the Go Local family have been demolished or severely damaged, and that’s just Go Local businesses. The total number will be staggering.”
Others are dealing with the loss of water, electricity and the ability to run their point-of-sale equipment. Online businesses can’t operate without power or internet.
All the while, everyone is tending to their families, friends, damaged homes and downed trees, Lucas notes.
Saving local businesses
When asked how residents can help local businesses, Lucas responded with two words: Buy local.
“With October being the busiest month for our businesses that counted on tourism and visitor revenue, that revenue is gone. But I think it is reasonable to believe the businesses that lost power, internet and water, and are able to sustain the loss of revenue through disaster relief funds in the form of loans and grants, should be back up and running by the holidays. Please, please, shop local for your holiday gifts. And if you can buy those gifts early when stores are back up and running, all the better.
“Also, buy local online.”
She also suggests people “adopt” a local business when it reopens and get to know the owner, boost their business online and just check in on them.
As for employees, some will get disaster unemployment payments for a while, but after that, they’ll need help. Options are GoFundMe sites and local organizations, she wrote.
Information overload
“[Businesses] need information,” Lucas writes. “They have never been through a disaster before. How do they access disaster resources? What resources are available to them? Are there free legal and accounting services to help them navigate how to support their employees when their business is closed? How do they access quick cash for cleanup, and to be able to pay for rent, utilities, supplies, inventory when no revenue is coming in?”
They also need counsel sorting through the avalanche of information streaming in, some reliable, some not, she says.
Business owners also need to know whom to turn to for help, says Erin Leonard, vice president of communications for Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. A business might need a large, unused parking lot for equipment staging or available warehousing for incoming supplies —from food and water to chain saws and dehumidifiers. “We’re trying to connect people.”
Organizations from Go Local to Mountain BizWorks, Explore Asheville, AIR (Asheville Independent Restaurants) and the Asheville Downtown Association are working to streamline information and coordinate resources.
What’s next?
As Lucas writes, “Necessity is the mother of invention. I think we’re about ready to experience the creative, strategic, tenacious and strong-willed group of businesses and support systems we have in Asheville and Buncombe County.
“Having witnessed the generosity, kindness, resiliency and compassion of our community already, I have no doubt our community will be back.”
She said it seems people are moving from shock to grief and then, unexpectedly, joy. “I’m seeing the joy people are feeling from being a part of this community and how we’re all helping each other,” Lucas says.
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