Ole’s Guacamoles re-emerges from destructive flood
Black Mountain restaurant relocates to West State Street
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 16, 2024
Ole’s Guacamoles re-opened, Nov. 13, in a temporary location on West State Street in Black Mountain, after flooding from Tropical Storm Helene damaged their restaurants in Asheville and on East State Street. Photo by Fred McCormick
The babbling waters of Flat Creek were once a key contributor to the ambience on the patio of Ole’s Guacamoles, a popular local restaurant known for its authentic Mexican cuisine and welcoming atmosphere. That changed in late September, when Tropical Storm Helene turned the normally tranquil waterway into a river of mud and debris.
While the path forward will be an arduous one for owners Ole and Elena Delatorre, the couple that founded the eatery in 2007 took their first steps, Nov. 13, with the opening of a temporary location at 502 West State Street.
The destruction was severe at the Ole’s Guacamoles Asheville and Black Mountain locations, while the Johnson City restaurant was undamaged. The Delatorres, who moved to the area from California in 2000, purchased the building on 401 East State Street in Black Mountain in 2019, and lease the space at 90 South Tunnel Road in Asheville.
“They were both destroyed, completely,” Elena said. “Everything was covered in mud and the equipment was ruined.”
As they consider how to navigate a future in Asheville, Ole and Elena are focusing their attention on their property in Black Mountain. They plan to reopen the location next spring.
“That’s our top priority right now,” Elena said.
The Delatorres were stranded in their Broad River home for four days after Helene, unable to contact family or employees. Their sons arrived the day of the storm to begin assessing and cleaning the building.
“There was around three feet of water in the restaurant, but since my sons live close by, they were able to come in quickly and get the doors open and start getting the mud out,” Elena said. “The bridge to get out of our house was down, so it took a few days to even get into town, but I was prepared by the time we got here. I knew from talking to my sons that everything was destroyed, so I tried to hold back my emotions because I wanted to be strong for my family.”
Ole and Elena raised their three sons, Daniel, Abraham and Alfredo, in the restaurant, which opened in a small building on South Ridgeway Avenue. Without prior experience in the industry, the family business grew from 40 tables to approximately 120 when it moved to the banks of Flat Creek.
Ole and Elena Delatorre opened Ole’s Guacamoles in 2007. The couple moved its Black Mountain restaurant to a temporary location, following Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick
“We did so much work to get the restaurant started, and I was working two jobs in the early days,” Elena said. “But, even though it was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done, we had lines out of the door when we moved to the bigger place.”
The storm brough an abrupt end to a pair of thriving operations, forcing the owners to consider how to support their nearly 60 employees, many of whom had worked at the restaurants for years.
“We have amazing employees, and we are fortunate enough to have paid our staff these last seven weeks,” Elena said. “They’ve been here to help us clean up and rebuild, and it’s important we get them to stay with us, because we have cooks that are amazing, and can get food out in eight minutes.”
Revenue would be needed to retain the remaining 24 employees, so the Delatorres turned their attention to a former restaurant and event space they had purchased in recent years.
“We had just listed this place, and several days after the storm we came by to check it out, and it was fine,” Elena said. “It has a commercial kitchen, so we ordered new equipment and added new booths and a small bar to the dining room. It took us a few weeks, but now it’s good to go.”
Regular customers were waiting at the door 25 minutes before Ole’s Guacamoles re-opened last Wednesday, according to Elena.
“We were supposed to open at 11 a.m., but since there was already a little line at the door, the place filled up fast,” Elena said. “They were all familiar faces, and since then it’s been like everyone who comes in is family.”
An anonymous gesture of support comforted Elena in the weeks after the storm.
“I was shopping in Ingles, and when I came out there was a note on my car,” she said. “I kept it because it touched my heart.”
The message read: “Congrats on your new location. I’m looking forward to a chili poblano with some rice and beans.”
The note offered a warm reminder of what they built before the natural disaster.
“It has been tough, but we want everyone to know we feel the love,” Elena said. “These past few weeks, not seeing our customers and having basically no income, haven’t been easy. But, getting back in the kitchen and having a little bit of normalcy has been amazing.”