At tonight’s meeting, Asheville City Council approved new rules allowing urban farming and produce sales throughout the city. Council also approved starting the search for a summer event to replace Bele Chere. On a less optimistic note, the public and city officials discussed increasing issues of crime, policing and homelessness in Asheville’s core.
Xpress spoke with four female business owners and leaders on their experiences running businesses and networking in the Asheville area. The following are excerpts from these conversations. Natalie Pollard, owner of homestead supply store Villagers (formerly Small Terrain) When and why did you open Villagers? It was October 2012. [Villagers] is multifaceted because of personal … Read more
N.C. cities and counties have cut budgets and raised taxes in response to a sputtering economy, reduced federal and state revenues, stagnant property values and new spending mandates. Thanks to our thriving tourism industry, the Great Recession was kinder to Asheville and Buncombe County, yet both local governments have raised property taxes recently to cover … Read more
Openings Hardcore Mamas fitness classes, Stone Bodyworks Studios, 25 Reed St. 808-3566. http://www.hardcoremamas.com. Trader Joe’s, 120 Merrimon Ave. 232-5078. http://www.traderjoes.com. Whist gift shop, 428-A Haywood Road. 252-5557. http://whistshop.com. Grand opening on Friday, Oct. 4. (Pictured, photo courtesy of Whist) Renovations and other changes Hank’s BBQ is now Tiger Bay Café, 373 Haywood Road. (Grand opening … Read more
I read with amazement the [opening sentence] of “New Crop,” the Sept. 11 cover story: “Follow a gravel road through the heart of Leicester, traverse a water-filled ditch, and you'll find WNC's future farmers hard at work." What a blatant lie! There are hardly any gravel roads left in the area and certainly nothing in … Read more
The Kenilworth neighborhood south of Asheville is not known for its mean streets. But an incident in early September showed that even the placid outskirts have their discordant moments. David Forbes’ Sept. 11 story, “Waiting for Cavalry,” described the incident: “On the evening of Aug. 8, Andrew Fletcher and his roommate, David Goodman, were in … Read more
Speaking to about 70 people at the Sherrill Center on Sept. 16, Shellie Pfohl urged audience members to view improving the health of the nation and ending childhood obesity as everyone's responsibility. “If it looks insurmountable, it's not,” she said in closing last night at the panel discussion, which doubled as the kickoff event for … Read more
