ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — In September 2024, Biltmore Village, the historic Asheville district located just outside of the Biltmore Estate, was flooded by Tropical Storm Helene. Damage was catastrophic. However, two years later, the neighborhood has reopened, changed but recovering.
Visitors to Biltmore Village will see open storefronts and “coming soon” signs posted up and down its streets.
“We will have three new businesses opening just within the next six weeks, which is really exciting. One is a returning business, one is a local business that is adding a second location and one is a brand new business coming into the Village,” said Kara Irani, executive director of the Historic Biltmore Village Association. “That is very indicative of what our recovery has looked like: a real combination of businesses that were here prior to the storm rebuilding and reopening, other businesses in the area coming into the village and adding locations and then just completely new businesses to the Asheville area. We’re seeing some solid and, I would say, intentional steps towards a full recovery.”
Those three businesses are:
- Tempur-Pedic mattress store, which will open at 9 Kitchin Place this weekend
- Chemist of Biltmore Village, a new location for the Asheville distillery, which will open in the historic Biltmore Village post office building
- Wink Salon, a Biltmore Village hair salon that will reopen on Oct. 6, 2026
Not every Biltmore Village business will return so soon. The Cathedral of All Souls, also known as All Souls Cathedral, was hit hard by Helene. The iconic Episcopal church, consecrated in 1986 by the Vanderbilt family, estimated in May 2026 that it will cost $10 million to reopen its doors.
Read our story: All Souls Cathedral estimates $10 million needed to restore Biltmore Village landmark
That will not stop the church from recognizing the progress the community has made already, however. Irani said that All Souls Cathedral will host a prayer service on Sunday, Sept. 27, exactly two years after Helene.
That service will be, more or less, the extent of how Biltmore Village will acknowledge the milestone.
“I haven’t heard people expressing a lot around the anniversary this year. I think we’re just all still trying to move forward and make really good things happen,” Irani shared. “We are in this place of planning for the future, rather than looking behind, and I think that’s kind of across the board for everyone. I know people are still aware of the anniversary, and I’m sure that there’s going to be more conversations about it, but it doesn’t seem as on the front of everyone’s mind this year as it was last year. I think that’s normal for a second anniversary of any kind, honestly.”
Biltmore Village is focused on the work yet to come. There is an sidewalk repair project in progress that hopes to make the district more accessible, and every business is doing what it can to bring tourists back to the area.
Read our story: Asheville seeks input on Biltmore Village Helene repairs
“We’re not quite yet back to pre-Helene numbers. It’s just taking a long time to really see the recovery piece hit people’s pockets. There’s still a lot of challenges for people, I know, and that’s true everywhere in Asheville for many small businesses, especially businesses in river corridors that were impacted by the kind of severe damage that Biltmore Village was,” Irani said.
The best way for people to help, Irani said, is simply to visit.
“People getting out and hanging out in the Village as much as they can is our big need, really,” Irani said. “Just getting people walking around and seeing for themselves what the recovery is really looking like. Because it’s looking good in the Village. It is looking really good.”
For more about the Historic Biltmore Village Association, visit www.historicbiltmorevillage.com.