The state of Asheville in Western North Carolina

By Dori

Date: November 15, 2024

I originally published this book back in June of 2024 under the name of An Asheville Native's Guide to Views and Brews. I had no idea that just a few months later, my entire city would be nearly destroyed and wiped from the map. I have attempted several times to update this title with Amazon KDP, but they have rejected my changes many times as well. It has been very frustrating for me to try and keep the book up-to-date so I have decided to use this blog instead. Hopefully the version of the book you acquire had the link to this blog or hopefully you found this online somewhere. Because of the weird way that Amazon has been rejecting changes to the book, The Kindle book actually has a different title than the print book. The title above you can find under the print version. 

Moving right along, No one ever expected that this disaster would be as bad as it was or at least not the people that live here. I hope you can understand that we just didn't have anything like this ever happen in our lifetime and so we just didn't really feel the need to evacuate or anything. I heard some pretty sad stories from people who lived in Lake Lure. One touching story about a dog who needed to find a new owner was a real tear-jerker. 

The hardest part from me was passing by some of the devastation. Although they recently had a "soft reopening", to see the River Arts District blown apart with trash in the trees was very shocking. And I even cried about the McDonald's and Grand Bohemian area in Biltmore Village being destroyed. Seeing the windows busted all out and the furniture full of dirt thrown on the side of the street just brought tears to my eyes. This is my childhood home that I've driven around in for years and years and although I move away I always come back and it was so heartbreaking to see it in this condition. 

The worst of all was being pregnant during those two weeks when we didn't have water. It was a nightmare with frequent urination and trying to stay hydrated. And then once my husband was able to come up from South Carolina and join me, trying to find a place to go eat was just as annoying as trying to live in a dark house with no internet no phone service and no running water. 

This storm hit back in September and it's mid-November when I'm writing this section And I still can't get to a restaurant that uses real plates and has a full menu of sodas or non-alcoholic drinks. So my husband has still been enjoying his beers because of course we're well known for that so that never went away! And I would love to enjoy a glass of wine and try to cope with the situation but I have to get through this completely sober because of the pregnancy. Big bummer! 

Immediately following the storm the only real place that was still open that had a lot of entertainment shops and restaurants was the Biltmore Town Center. This should not be confused with the Biltmore Village which is outside the Biltmore Estate Gates. The Biltmore Town Center is right off of Exit 36 on I-26. My husband and I went out to see every movie we could go to and ate at the hickory tavern there a lot even though they didn't have a full menu and certainly not drink menu because of the bad water. 

Like I said this is mid November when I'm writing this, and as of this point they have started to open up sections of the Blue Ridge parkway I've actually seen cars coming out of it. I believe that they've for the most part have finished working on the Biltmore Forest neighborhood but if you still see the signs that say "no thru traffic" You could get in trouble for cutting through the neighborhood. But once things Go back to normal is perfectly okay to drive into the Biltmore Forest neighborhood just not during the recovery. We still see FEMA officials and Red Cross people in different places taking over buildings where the businesses have closed. 

The Grove Park Inn and announced that they would be opening and they have some unique ideas for still hosting their gingerbread house competition. A lot of restaurants and shops that are open especially in places like Fletcher that feel more normal than places in Asheville to go eat. Downtown Asheville is still struggling to open. I will say I am sick of using plastic utensils and paper plates when I go out places. It really takes away from the atmosphere and enjoyment of the food and everything. But like I said, maybe it's just because I'm stone cold sober and can't do anything about it.