Want to help Asheville recover from Helene? Buy our products, say local businesses

While tourism is in stasis following Hurricane Helene, western North Carolina is promoting its boutique manufacturers as a way to start rebuilding the economy.

When Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina on September 27, Asheville’s reputation changed from charming vacation destination to epicenter of devastation. With flooding wiping out whole neighborhoods in Asheville and surrounding Buncombe county, an official death toll approaching 100, and a water system offline for the foreseeable future, the priority has been providing basic necessities to roughly 270,000 people.