HOT SPRINGS – Gov. Josh Stein was in Hot Springs Thursday, July 17, visiting four local businesses and continuing to push to raise awareness and bring attention to the importance of attracting visitors to the region.
Stein has been in Western North Carolina, joined by his wife, Anna, throughout the week.
Downtown Hot Springs, like downtown Marshall, is comprised of a densely concentrated commercial district. But similar to downtown Marshall, downtown Hot Springs suffered enormous damage in Helene’s flooding, as both Spring Creek and the French Broad River — or in some cases a vortex of the two — wreaked havoc on the downtown area, as well as up the mountain in the town of Spring Creek.
At downtown Hot Springs’ Spring Creek Tavern, the restaurant owners Amanda and Tim Arnett watched from their porch as Spring Creek’s waters rose above the bridge Sept. 27. Eventually, they looked on helplessly as neighboring structure Hiker Ridge Ministry was washed down Spring Creek.
Just minutes later, Spring Creek Tavern’s porch was ripped away, too.
Gov. Josh Stein shakes hands with Hot Springs Mayor Abby Norton at Big Pillow Brewing during a visit to Hot Springs July 17,
And while S[ring Creek Tavern plans to reopen as soon as possible, there are a number of downtown Hot Springs businesses that have been able to welcome patrons back again.
The governor said he wants to continue advancing the message to North Carolinians and other visitors that Western North Carolina is open for business, and pointed to a new campaign, Rediscover The Unforgettable tourism initiative during his Hot Springs visit July 17.
“When you think about Western North Carolina, there’s unforgettable beauty, unforgettable crafts, unforgettable craft beers, like here at Big Pillow Brewing,” Stein told visitors at the Hot Springs brewery, the last of four businesses he visited, including Bluff Mountain Outfitters, Gentry Hardware and Vinyl Pies PIzza.
“We want everyone watching this to know, ‘Hey, if you’ve got a couple, few days free this summer, come to Western North Carolina,'” Stein said. “You will have a great time, but at the same time, you’re going to be helping people as they recover and get their businesses back.”
Gentry Hardware has been open in Hot Springs since at least 1946. The shop is co-owned by Jeanne Caldwell Gentry, an outgoing Hot Springs Town Board member and formerly the town’s finance officer, and her husband Keith Gentry.
In the weeks and months following Helene, Jeanne and Keith Gentry received help from volunteers throughout Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, and all over the country, including from the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division.
Gov. Josh Stein walks with Hot Springs Mayor Abby Norton, middle, and Hot Springs Town Board member Wendy Stancil in downtown Hot Springs July 17,
Just after Helene passed through, residents and volunteers assisted the Gentrys with cleanup, mucking out mud and working fastidiously to decontaminate products.
“They won’t let us quit,” Jeanne Gentry told The News-Record & Sentinel outside the business’s “Salvage Central” area, a makeshift pop-up shop sitting right beside Spring Creek.
On July 17, Jeanne Gentry told Stein the couple “has been very blessed.”
Stein said the most lasting impact he’s had from his WNC visit is the toughness and resilience of the people.
“Folks had 3 feet of mud in their businesses, and they were out here mucking it out. Just to be able to get your business open in March or in April, within months of that storm coming through, so you’re here ready for customers in the summertime, it just shows how community they are to a community,” Stein said.
“A place like this brewery, it’s more than a place to buy food and drink. It’s a place for the community to come together. I’ve really been impressed by how people really care about the communities they live in.”
A number of Hot Springs businesses, including Bluff Mountain Outfitters, Gentry Hardware and Vinyl Pies Pizza, received grant funding from the small business grant program funded in collaboration by Dogwood Health Trust and the state of North Carolina.
Gov. Josh Stein, and his wife, Anna, pose for a photo July 17 at Gentry Hardware in Hot Springs, alongside Gentry Hardware co-owner Jeanne Gentry and fellow Hot Springs Town Board member Dan Myers.
Stein advocated for additional similar programs to support small businesses, adding that he’s working with the state General Assembly to push for more small business assistance.
“They’ve worked so hard to spend money to get back open,” the governor said. “They lost a ton of revenue. They lost out on the fall. They lost out on Christmas. We need to help them keep their doors open to welcome these customers.”
Bluff Mountain Outfitters was the first stop on Stein’s tour. The outfitters shop was forced to move down the street to a new location at 88 Bridge St.
Bluff Mountain opened in 1997 and is one of the longest-operating businesses in Hot Springs.
Bluff Mountain Outfitters was the first of four stops during Gov. Josh Stein’s visit to Hot Springs July 17. Stein is seen here with Bluff Mountain owner Wayne Crosby.
In a discussion with Stein at the business, Bluff Mountain owner Wayne Crosby said Bluff Mountain is operating at roughly 50% of its inventory compared to its pre-Helene merchandise, in its old location.
But as Crosby mentioned to Stein, he was grateful to be operating at 50%, noting that many other Hot Springs businesses were still shut down post-Helene.
For the Bluff Mountain Outfitters owner, he hopes to reframe the narrative to focus attention on bringing visitors in the fall season.
“That’s what we’ve got. We’ve got from here to fall, and then we’re going to go into a long, cold winter without a lot of people,” Crosby said. “So, if we can say, ‘Hey, come back for fall, come back for the leaves, or come back for the anniversary,’ let’s go with them. Let’s roll this forward.”
Striking a balance was a consideration made by Hot Springs Town Board member Wendy Stancil, who said it was “super encouraging” to see Stein visit Hot Springs.
But Stancil also said Hot Springs and WNC as a whole are in a strangely delicately balanced place as it celebrates its reopened businesses while still aiming to address other issues, including infrastructure needs.
“Most of the tiny towns have massive infrastructure damage,” Stancil said. “So, you have to have the balance of getting the businesses that have been able to reopen — or haven’t been closed this whole time — getting them business, but not overwhelming our broken infrastructure while we wait on the money to fix it.”
Stein’s third business visit in Hot Springs was to Vinyl Pies Pizza, where he ordered a large pepperoni pizza for him, Anna and staff members.
Gov. Josh Stein is pictured here with Big Pillow Brewing co-owner Amy Rubin, center, during a visit to Hot Springs July 17,
Prior to his visit in downtown Hot Springs, Stein also spent time July 17 in downtown Marshall, including a visit to Old Marshall Jail and Zadie’s.
Stein told The News-Record & Sentinel seeing Hot Springs and Marshall businesses reopen was “really incredible” and encouraging.
“You can come here and have a wonderful time,” Stein said. “When you’re doing that, you’re helping out local commerce. You’re helping out those businesses. Those businesses employ people. People need income to pay their rent. It’s all dependent on itself. I just hope people in North Carolina who watch this tell themselves, ‘Let’s go have a great time. Let’s go rediscover the unforgettable in Western North Carolina.'”
Gov. Josh Stein was in Hot Springs July 17, a trip in which he visited four local businesses, including Vinyl Pies Pizza, where he ordered a large pepperoni pizza. He’s seen here with Vinyl Pies employee Mark Eule.
More: Post Helene, how Gentry Hardware, Bluff Mtn. Outfitters and Hot Springs Resort move ahead
More: Hot Springs Resort and Spa gets “floods of love” after partial reopening, eyes full reopen
More: Hot Springs’ Gentry announces she won’t be running for reelection in November
More: Hot Springs staple Bluff Mountain Outfitters to reopen this month
Johnny Casey is the Madison County communities reporter for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Gov. Josh Stein visits four small businesses in Hot Springs trip