SWANNANOA, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A neighborhood grocery store has opened in Swannanoa, offering residents fresh food and local products after months of concern about a growing food desert in the community.
Rite Buy Grocery quietly opened Saturday in the Beacon Village area, filling a gap left after Tropical Storm Helene damaged infrastructure and delayed the reopening of Ingles, the town’s only major grocery store.
The extended closure, along with limited communication from the chain, left residents traveling miles for basic groceries and raised concerns about food access in the unincorporated community east of Asheville…