SWANNANOA, N.C. — As businesses in western North Carolina work toward reopening, some small business owners said they are still hitting roadblock after roadblock as they try to get back in business.
The owners of Zella’s Deli in Swannanoa said they have hit so many issues trying to reopen in town, they had to leave Swannanoa and find a new location in East Asheville to get things moving again.
When John Tressler first heard that his business, Zella’s Deli in downtown Swannanoa, was damaged from Helene, he had no idea how bad the damage would be.
“When it came down, you know, it was. This was all just complete destruction,” Tressler said.
“We were able to break the window down to the other side and kind of get our, some of our, you know, cookware and dry goods and things out of there. But that was as far as we could get,” he said.
After being open for a little over six months, the floodwaters from Helene washed the deli’s back wall into the Swannanoa River, ripping the floor out in the process.
“Being here and seeing this every day. You're kind of desensitized at this point,” Tressler said. “You know, it was it was, it's it's just tough to talk about this first couple of weeks, you know, seeing this and, you know, all of this. There were houses here that was, you know, a mobile home park over there. I want to know. It was just it's just, it was just devastation.”
Now, five months later, he and his business partner are still trying to salvage anything they can from the rubble.
“A lot of stuff, you know, up front that meant things to us we were able to get,” Tressler said. “But in the back, it's, it's tough. We've got to basically restart with all the equipment.”
Tressler said he and his team were adamant about reopening after the storm. But getting back in business has been anything but easy.
“It’s anything from you know, permitting, then first finding a location,” Tressler said.
Originally, Tressler said they planned to move their business two doors down Route 70 in Swannanoa. But the building’s well was flooded during the storm.
And Tressler said they weren’t able to get a water meter from the city of Asheville for the location.
Then they were told their renovation plans for the building also exceeded the amount insurance would cover. So they couldn’t get the necessary permits to move forward either.
Tressler said they have now secured a new location in East Asheville. And while they are happy they can finally start working toward reopening, he’s sad they will have to leave their community spot because of all the hurdles.
“You know, the fast food places have the resources to reopen,” Tressler said. “They had money right away. And they're rebuilding and reopening. But it's the small businesses, you know, us and the tattoo shop and you know, the service station, things like that. I mean, we don't have the money to reopen.”
A representative for the city of Asheville, responding to Tressler's concerns, said they encourage all business owners and employees to check out the Asheville Recover site, which details programs and resources for business owners and employees to take advantage of during this time.
Tressler said he is worried for what the future of Swannanoa will be when it comes to businesses in the area.
“It felt like we were kind of a neighborhood spot,” Tressler said. “To have the neighborhood spots be gone. It's just tough. It's going to be tough to rebuild this, you know, this little area.”
Tressler said so far they have applied for about seven different grants, but only have heard back from one so far.
He said they have been given the option to apply for business loans, but the loans include interest, which Tressler said is hard for a small business to take on.
