Hi Bitesters. We need to take a break from the usual jovial mood of this site to acknowledge the pain that our neighbors in Western North Carolina are experiencing in the wake of Hurricane Helene. If you’ve been watching the news, it’s obvious that the region is in serious trouble. Particularly devastating is the damage in the usually bucolic mountain town of Asheville.
There are lots of connections between the restaurant communities of Asheville and Nashville, and I’ve been reaching out to friends in the region. To a person, they've shared that the situation is far worse even than the media has been able to report.
Scene contributor Kay West's photo of the inundated River Arts District in Asheville
First off, some good news. After a couple days of being out of contact because of a lack of power, cell service, internet access or water, beloved, award-winning Scene correspondent Kay West — who regularly travels to Nashville to cover our restaurant scene, but currently resides in Asheville — was finally able to let friends and family know that she is OK. She shared on Facebook that her West Asheville neighborhood is relatively intact but that her street had been completely blocked by fallen trees. She managed to get out on Saturday to contact family and saw a tragic result of the storm in person: The French Broad River had completely overflowed the River Arts District, a fun and funky home to artist galleries and studios, shops, breweries, bars and restaurants. That neighborhood is a big part of the heart and soul of Asheville.
By Monday, Kay had managed to make her way to Charlotte to stay with her daughter, but she is heartbroken by the losses incurred by Asheville’s largely independent restaurant community and the creative artists who contribute so much to the vibrancy of the city.
Asheville being Asheville, the restaurant community has quickly come together with the saints at World Central Kitchen to begin the arduous task of feeding the community during the long slog of recovery efforts. Other local groups are cooking wherever and whatever they can to feed first responders and displaced residents. Kay is on the board of a group called Equal Plates Project and has worked as a kitchen volunteer weekly. While she isn’t currently able to pitch in directly, the group is continuing its efforts to help out during this tragedy. She respectfully asks for anyone’s support for Equal Plates and World Central Kitchen, and you can donate directly to both groups at the websites above.
Blue Ridge Public Radio has also put together an extensive list of organizations involved in the recovery effort where you can contribute dollars or goods if you are looking for a way to help out. Local officials stress that even with the best intentions, attempting to drive supplies directly to the affected areas is dangerous and counterproductive to the teams hard at work to rescue and locate flood victims. Sending money and supplies to the aid organizations is a much better way to pitch in at the current time.
But Asheville is going to need a lot of help in the future, possibly for years. Like Nashville, much of the city's economy is tourism-based, including the customers who patronize the many beloved independent restaurants. For perspective, I contacted my friend chef William Dissen of The Market Place. Even over email, it’s clear that he is despondent despite the fact that his restaurant is on Wall Street on one of the highest points of downtown, more than a mile from the French Broad River.
“We were just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring for Uber Eats.”
“Thousands are missing in my area alone,” he shares. “We cooked at [University of North Carolina-Asheville] for over 800 FEMA and first responders yesterday and their stories were horrific of the amount of bodies they have found and whole towns being wiped out.”
The Market Place, a semifinalist of the James Beard Foundation for Outstanding Restaurant in America this year, has been a leader in farm-to-table cuisine in Asheville since 1979 and was looking forward to celebrating 45 years in business as a successful independent restaurant. While his building is intact, Dissen is deeply concerned about the future of his own and many, many other restaurants in Asheville.
Staff has been displaced, suppliers' facilities and farms have been destroyed, and the prospects of regaining any sort of normalcy anytime soon are grim. Dissen revealed the sad reality of the aftermath of Helene. “I’m expecting to file bankruptcy in the next couple of months unless I can get serious federal aid," he says. "We won’t have business here for years due to the destruction of infrastructure.”
As a longtime leader of the local restaurant community, Dissen took it upon himself to issue a press release to spread the word of the city's plight. In it, he shared: “We are safe. But it’s not good. Biblical disaster. Please reach out to your congressmen and ask them to send federal aid. We need FEMA and the National Guard as soon as possible. It is very, very bad.”
Hurricane Helene has devastated the Asheville and Western North Carolina region, which is still without water and electricity. Rescue crews are working around the clock, and supplies are being airlifted in. Communication in the region is extremely limited.
"This is the worst flood of our lifetimes," says Dissen. "It’s truly decimated our region. We are out of water and power and there is no cell or internet (I’m on the courthouse steps using their wifi). Roads in and out of Asheville are closed or washed away, and communication is minimal. Please send prayers. We will need your help to rebuild."
The Market Place restaurant has donated all food to World Central Kitchen and is closed until further notice.
I asked the chef what we can do to help. He replied, “Spread the word, Chris. Demand politicians give help and send people to clean up and rebuild ASAP!”
Lastly, Dissen says, “Send prayers, my friend.”
I have my marching orders, and now you do too. Let’s do whatever we can in the spirit of Nashville’s own resilience in the face of past disasters like tornadoes, floods, the pandemic and the Christmas Day bombing. Start with prayers and then figure out what sort of action you can take to help out.
