ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Nearly two years after Tropical Storm Helene flooding destroyed its Biltmore Village location, Andaaz has returned in a new home in downtown Asheville.
The Indian restaurant reopened this summer at 15 Page Ave., on the ground floor of the Cambria Hotel across from Grove Arcade.
Before Helene struck Western North Carolina in September 2024, Andaaz operated in Biltmore Village. Then nearly 11 feet of floodwater entered the restaurant during the storm, destroying the space.
Rather than return to Biltmore Village, owner Raj Singh said the restaurant decided to make its post-Helene comeback downtown.
“We decided on a post-Helene comeback to a new location in downtown Asheville with selections on the menu from all regions of India,” Singh said.
Getting there took time. Singh said the new restaurant took about a year and a half to come together.
The Page Avenue location has dining space for small and large groups as well as private dining. Andaaz also offers a lunch buffet seven days a week.
Singh said the restaurant hired a new executive chef and has added items to a menu that includes dishes representing different regions of India.
The private dining space can also accommodate food from Laila and Jazmin, other restaurants associated with the owners.
While the location is new, pieces of the old Andaaz came with it.
Statues that survived the flooding at the Biltmore Village restaurant now have a place inside the downtown location.
“These statues here are survivors of that flood,” the restaurant said in a Sept. 9 social media post. “They have now been placed in our new home, serving as a reminder of our resilience and our history.”
The statues now provide a visible link between Andaaz’s former Biltmore Village restaurant and its new downtown home.