ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A former Minnesotan is reeling from losing his business in Hurricane Helene .
“We started it with very small amount of savings,” said Dan Juhnke.
More than a decade ago, at just 21 years old, Juhnke co-founded Junkyard Brewing in Moorhead alongside his brother, Aaron Juhnke.
“We worked our way into a taproom and then it kind of ballooned from there,” said Juhnke.
Five years ago, Juhnke moved to Asheville, North Carolina, to start his own brewery, alongside longtime family friend Brian Fetting, where they founded New Origin Brewing.
But on Sept. 27, the brewery Juhnke and Fetting built by hand, that they’d poured their savings and livelihoods into, was completely wiped away by Hurricane Helene. Juhnke said his building was leveled by a train car that was caught up in the debris.
“We went to the brewery and we saw the absolute destruction in the neighborhood,” said Juhnke. “My first reaction was just defeat I guess. Feeling defeated after working for five years to build that place. And then in an instant, it just gets taken away.”