HENDERSONVILLE — Two restaurants on Asheville Highway are aiming to open in January after suffering major flooding when Tropical Storm Helene bore down on Western North Carolina Sept. 27 and Brittain Creek, which flows through nearby Patton Park, overflowed.
Henderson County Chamber of Commerce President Robert R. Williford said he didn’t have exact numbers on how many restaurants in the area remain closed. As of October , unemployment in Henderson County stood at 4.6%; in Transylvania County, 3.9%; and in Polk County, 4%, according to figures from the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
“The challenge will be that a lot of folks use their revenue from the fall, which is usually pretty strong, to carry them through a weak spring,” he said Dec. 20.
If they can get through the first few months of 2025, business would return, he predicted.
“It’ll come back,” he said confidently.