Asheville, North Carolina. The Downtown Asheville Association said downtown businesses are relying on people from across Western North Carolina to show their support as they begin to reopen after Helene.

FEMA reports that 40% of businesses do not reopen after a disaster, which is a statistic that groups like the Asheville Downtown Association and Explore Asheville are trying to prevent.

In response, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority has opened applications for its Always Asheville bottom, which provides grants to businesses impacted by Helene in Buncombe County.

Hayden Plemmons, director of the Asheville Downtown Association, and the Downtown Association are planning events to attract customers.

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“We are very excited to launch a winter program at the center,” Plemmons said. “There will be Christmas lights downtown for the first time in a long time.”

“The winter window competition is back this year; we’re having the holiday party instead of the parade; there’s a lot to look forward to this holiday season,” he said.

Restaurants are also experiencing difficulty reopening without access to clean water.

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“We’re hoping that once drinking water comes back downtown, there will really be a renaissance of our restaurants downtown,” Plemmons said.

The Med Scratch Diner has been open for about a week and uses bottled water for drinking and cooking, while the SThe &W cafe has been closed for about a month, but announced plans to reopen on November 1.

“Most of our retailers are open, you can check their website to see if they’re open. We’ve also been handing out orange balloons where people can say ‘Okay, the business is open and stop by and do their holiday shopping early,'” Plemmons . said. “We’re trying to come together to create downtown experiences that appeal to locals, to regional visitors, to those day trippers.”

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