Comfort food

Don’t forget the businesses who stepped up when we needed it most

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 11, 2024

Trailhead gives out free “hot soup,” Oct. 11, as downtown Black Mountain businesses enter their second week without water. The staff will continue to offer the free food service, sporadically, until the business reopens. Photo by Fred McCormick

It may be a while, but there will come a time when things around Black Mountain get back to normal, or some reasonable approximation of the word. Water will come back on and local businesses will work tirelessly to get back on their feet, even as they contend with the destruction of Helene coming just as they were preparing for the normally busy fall tourist season.

The last two weeks have been disorienting, as thousands remain without power or water in the Swannanoa Valley, basic supplies are handed out in distribution lines and roads remain caked in layers of dust, but sometimes mundane experiences ground us the most.

That happened to me, Oct. 11, as I was driving through downtown. I saw familiar faces from one of my favorite local restaurants — The Trailhead — holding signs that read “Hot Soup.” Their enthusiasm felt genuine, and if you’re one of the seemingly countless local customers who frequents the place, you can bet the soup was delicious.

I stopped in the parking lot to talk about what they are up to, and learned they would be serving free food, sporadically, until the business reopens. Today’s offering featured veggie curry over rice, beef Stroganoff and a variety of other soups that would instill comfort in anyone who hasn’t eaten a meal in town for the past 14 days.

They were giving out these soups, which people can and often do wait patiently for a table to eat, during the downtown business district’s busy weeks every fall. Nearby, was a bucket with the hand-written message: “Trailhead employee donation.”

If you have been fortunate enough to live in Black Mountain for any amount of time, you would know one of the biggest appeals is our charming downtown. I’ve written a bunch of stories on its history, but one of my favorite things has always been the people who are there, presently.

Lookout Brewing Co. will be open, Oct. 12 and 13, giving out free food and accepting donations for beer. The Black Mountain business is one of several that have continued to host people since Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick

So many of the businesses on Cherry Street, State Street, Broadway, Sutton and Black Mountain Avenue are owned and operated by our neighbors. A lot of them are dealing with damage to their homes, while their shops are unable to welcome the scores of leaf-lookers that would normally bring a final push for them and their employees before winter.

This storm has likely hit some of them when they least expected, or when they were ill-equipped to handle it. It’s going to be a long road back for many of them.

Additionally, while many of our local business owners have invested their money and time in making downtown a vibrant place, it is the people who work in them that keep a lot of us coming back.

For as long as I’ve lived here, Black Mountain has had excellent hospitality workers. We are already lucky to live in a small town that seemingly has amazing food or beer at every turn, and it’s the staff that makes it all happen. Some of the most familiar faces in this town are people who have been serving us at these bars, breweries and restaurants for years.

Seeing the Trailhead crew out in public, warmly greeting and serving weary residents made me curious. I decided to see what other establishments were doing during this unprecedented time, so I headed east to Lookout Brewing Co., a place that has been a community gathering place for more than a decade. The scene there was heart-warming.

Nearly all of the staff at Lookout have been there for years, including through the duration of the Covid pandemic. Today, as the entire region is reeling from a natural disaster, they were also smiling and serving customers, only accepting donations in return. The brewery’s neighbor, Fresh Wood Fired Pizza, was providing food that smelled, to me, like a time when things were normal.

Lookout Brewing Co. John Garcia grills hamburgers, Oct. 11, as players from the Asheville High School soccer team give them out for free. Photo by Fred McCormick

The scene felt like a regular Friday evening in town, with the exception of the Asheville High School soccer players serving free burgers from a grill, where their coach and Lookout owner John Garcia was hard at work.

The gatherings are something they have been doing since last Sunday, and they will be there all weekend, closing before the town’s 7 p.m. curfew.

Just down the street, the RailYard continued serving food and distributing supplies to the hundreds of people who come through there, daily, extending an operation started by the Black Mountain Presbyterian Church. The outdoor location, which is open 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., every day, has become a hub for people looking for hot meals or basic supplies.

On Broadway, underneath a stunning mural of Black Mountain native Roberta Flack, a line of hungry people were waiting for tacos from a place I had never heard of. By chance, I met the owner of Vittles, a downtown Lincolnton eatery that has brought two mobile kitchens to Western N.C. in the days after the storm. One is serving in Fairview, and the other has found a nice spot in the parking lot next to Black Mountain Brewing.

Kurt Houser, owner of the restaurant, said he plans to keep crews of volunteers in the area until the new year.

“We started with five or six volunteers, now we’ve got more than 100 people helping out,” he told me. “All of these guys took a Friday off from work to come out here and feed people in this area.”

I have never been to downtown Lincolnton before, but when I do, there is a 100% chance I’m going into Vittles and ordering something from the menu.

Employees at Fresh Wood Fired Pizza in Black Mountain deliver food to neighboring Lookout Brewing Co., as the businesses partner to feed residents in the aftermath of Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick

While it is truly touching to see so many people come from all over to help us in our time of need, we will all need to prioritize our support for the people, places and institutions that help make this community what it is, as we make our way through this.

These businesses are going to need our help, and I can’t wait to go into town and pay to eat delicious food, shop locally and do all of those things that have become a special part of the Black Mountain experience.

I’m going to remember the ones who responded with true comfort in these tough times, and, if you’re able, I hope you will, too.