ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) -- Stewart Hough put his heart and his savings into Sunnyside Trading Company, a retail showroom of furniture he imported from countries including India, China and Morocco.
"I had a 12,000-square-foot warehouse," said Hough as he stood among remaining pieces of salvaged tables, chests and other items recovered after Helene. "Basically, what you can see is what we've been able to dig out of the mud. I've held two sales now. We just finished one last weekend."
His showroom was filled with water and silt. Hough says the building where he rented space will be torn down.
"I have no plans to do anything quickly," he said.
Hough is taking time to travel and put some space between the devastating blow to his business and any immediate decision on opening another store.
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He worked in the antique furniture business for much of his career and moved to Asheville because he fell in love with the town.
He has inventory that arrived in the weeks after Helene. All of it, he said, is stored in a warehouse farther up Riverside Drive in the same stretch of warehouse buildings where French Broad Chocolate and Kitzuma Cycling are located.
He says he plans to have customers come by appointment. He is rooting for fellow business owners, including building owners investing in their futures, to re-open in the River Arts District (RAD).
A woodworking studio space has been gutted and reframed with fresh wood, and Hough's friend Tim Schaller, who owns Wedge Brewing, is working on plans to re-open his second space that Helene destroyed, which housed his brewing operation off Foundy Street.
"We've emptied this building," said Schaller. "It's clean. It's structurally sound. Right now, we're taking the old boiler out."
With a crew of three, they removed the boiler used to heat water to make beer. The huge boiler headed to the garbage dump as it was not salvageable.
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Schaller's main Wedge Brewing space in the RAD re-opened last October. He plans to re-open his second space by October 2025 and make improvements to the outdoor patio space that became a popular gathering spot pre-Helene.
On Monday, Feb. 4, cranes worked to remove debris from huge vacant lots across from RAD's two-mile greenway. There were also crews on the greenway itself cleaning up debris.
Jeffrey Burroughs, president of the River Arts District Artists, said he and other artists and business owners have formed a new group called Unified River Arts District (URAD). The goal, he said, is to come up with a clear vision of what stakeholders want to see for the RAD's future if the city obtains large federal rebuild grants.
One discussion in the works, Burroughs said, is to find a funding stream to build temporary spaces in empty lots where artists could have galleries this summer.
Burroughs said he has seen such structures in New York City at the Union Square Holiday Market and would hope to replicate the set-up in the RAD. There are already temporary structures housing businesses.
"I think you will see a fuller-looking district come the spring and summer," said Burroughs. "It will have that uncommon market kind of feeling."
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Burroughs said plans are working out to program events every weekend during warm weather including bike events and other festivals. While there are businesses in the RAD closing for good, Burroughs said there is a strong commitment from the city to rebuild.
Stephanie Dahl, Asheville's planning and urban design director, shared how the city is trying to help RAD businesses and artists.
"Asheville anticipates receiving funding to rebuild much of the public infrastructure in the River Arts District," wrote Dahl by email.
She said staff are doing consistent outreach to business owners about grant opportunities. She also wrote about potential plans for the coming year. That includes "early support for the RADFest and considering how temporary uses, festivals and special events, and signage and right-sized messaging is promoted."
Dahl also wrote about the big white tent on the site of the former Pleb Winery.
"The property and business owners at The Foundry on Lyman Street are currently working on getting final permits from Duke Energy to use that space to provide the kind of outlet for creatives provided before the storm."