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

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. But as aid pours in, power starts returning, and gas stations reopen, Asheville and surrounding towns including Black Mountain are turning to the next step: rebuilding the economy as quickly as possible. Asheville is a famous tourist destination—hosting hikers, foodies, arts and crafts collectors, and countless bachelorette parties. Even hotels and restaurants that are unscathed can’t reopen until the ruined public water system comes back online in weeks or months. But many local businesses that sell far beyond Asheville are ready for customers. “We have inventory, and we are desperately looking for opportunities to send it out and keep our business going,” says Allison Blake, cofounder and CEO of handcrafted jewelry manufacturer Soulku. The company sells online and through about 1,300 stores nationwide. It employs around 20 craftspeople, all moms who mostly work from home. “By our business staying afloat, by my employees getting paychecks, they are able to stay in Asheville and help rebuild our town,” she says. Manufacturing employs 21,300 people in Buncombe and neighboring counties, according to the local Economic Development Coalition and Chamber of Commerce. Other local manufacturers, such as Moonlight Makers, a popular seller of humorous T-shirts, mugs, and other products, just resumed national shipments. [Image: Brands of WNC] Harder-hit companies are salvaging what they can. “It has been a massive job getting everything wet thrown away,” wrote Emma Allen, founder of skincare-products maker Everyday Oil, in an email. With its main building flooded, the company has set up a fulfillment center in a hut on the property. Pirani, a maker of vacuum-insulated cups, is cleaning off up to $6,000 worth of product it may have to sell at a steep “scratch and dent” discount. (Disclosure: I became friends with the owners of Pirani while living in Asheville.) Rebuilding in “Beer City” Asheville, which bills itself as “Beer City USA,” faces bigger challenges with its signature product. “Our two brewing facilities weren’t damaged in the flood, but . . . the water system in Asheville is out for an indeterminate amount of time,” says Adam Charnack, owner and CEO of Hi-Wire Brewing—one of more than 50 breweries in the county. “We’re really probably looking at months, and that’s just to get the system on, to get us caught up, to refill what was lost.” Buying bottles of Hi-Wire won’t help the company directly, as distributors have already paid for them. But clearing the shelves could help its long-term survival, says Charnack. “We want to be able to tell the story to our retailers that people are supporting us during this time, so that we can continue to grow our business with those retailers.” Hi-Wire also operates tap room bars in eight other cities. A similar dilemma faces gourmet confectionery French Broad Chocolate, named for one of the rivers that inundated Asheville. “[We] watched cars float by, watched telephone poles float by, just watched the river rise really fast and rise up to our front door,” says cofounder and CEO Jael Skeffington. Though the factory floor of its building was barely scathed, it’s useless without a water supply. “We’re trying to figure out if there are any creative ways to truck in water and be able to manufacture,” she says. How you can help right now French Broad Chocolate sold its remaining inventory in the days after the flood. Like several Asheville businesses, it’s now selling gift cards that customers can utilize whenever production resumes. “Buying chocolate to support a community is a pretty easy sell. Gift cards might be slightly less compelling,” says Skeffington. Corey Reid, VP of accounts for ecommerce site developer on/Sight, has evacuated to Charlotte, where he spoke with a woman who snapped up some of the last sweets. “Someone who doesn’t live in Asheville found a way to support a business, using the income that they’re going to use for their Christmas gifts already,” says Reid. “And I was like, ‘Well, I work for an ecommerce agency. We can design and develop a site really quickly.’” The result is Brands Of WNC, a directory of Asheville businesses searchable by categories such as boutiques, dining, and local artists. The site launched on Sunday and continues to add companies that submit their information. Venture Asheville, a startup support initiative of the Economic Development Coalition, has also created a directory of local companies to support. “Because of the health and vibrancy of our leisure h