ASHEVILLE – As owners of Corner Kitchen restaurant, business partners Joe Scully and Kevin Westmoreland are part of the current generation working to preserve historic Biltmore Village.

early 20’s^This In the 19th century, Biltmore Village was founded as a mixed-use community of homes and businesses for the workers and families of George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate.

Scully and Westmoreland’s 20-year investment was nearly wiped out on the weekend of Sept. 27 when Tropical Storm Helene caused the Swannanoa River to rise and flood the now-devastated business district.

Extensive cleanup and rebuilding efforts are slowly progressing, and there is no known date for when the area will reopen and recover.

“I think we’re going to have more flooding in this area, and what I would say is that something needs to be done about flood resilience in this area, whether it’s removing buildings or providing funding to reduce the impact of water getting in here.” said Scully. “If we all agree that this has value, we need to step up and do something about it.”

Scully said many business owners don’t have the money or resources to do it themselves, and restaurateurs know this firsthand. Corner Kitchen at 3 Boston Way is undergoing a major renovation after floodwaters reached the ground floor ceiling of the elevated building.

The water level is about 8 feet higher than when Biltmore Village was flooded in 2004, Scully said.

Corner Kitchen had been open for six months when the historic flood occurred, requiring walls and floors to be removed and replaced.

Now the same walls and floors have been removed. The building has been gutted and the electrical systems, plumbing and gas lines all need to be reinstalled. The partners recently upgraded and painted the lighting and sound panels; These now need to be redone.

The restoration is expected to take six to eight months, with building renovations expected to cost between $500,000 and $750,000, Scully said. They must comply with the rules of the historic district while preserving many of the building’s original features.

“We lost over a million easy and we need to move forward on that,” Scully said.

Obama’s Corner Kitchen table survives

Westmoreland said previous flood experience had prepared them for Helene to some extent. He said that they prepared for storms and floods by moving the belongings to higher places, but they did not get any results.

When they returned in the days following the storm, they found the kitchen and dining room in disarray and equipment destroyed.

“Everything looked alike,” Scully said. “Everything was everywhere.”

The mud from the porch to the sidewalk was 6 to 8 inches deep and looked like flowing lava, Westmoreland said.

The 8-by-12-foot walk-in cooler and the 8-by-8-foot walk-in freezer at the back of the building had been lifted and lowered into their corners. They were stocked with fresh food in preparation for a busy weekend. Scully said they couldn’t be reached for 12 days, then all the food was thrown away.

During the busy tourist season, food and beverage losses are estimated at $75,000 a week, and lost income is at least $100,000. Gross revenues of approximately $500,000 were expected for October.

That doesn’t include revenue losses at the downtown restaurant Chestnut, which has been closed for several weeks due to ongoing citywide water outages.

The patio and ground floor furniture stored upstairs were not damaged. table President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama The person who was eaten while visiting Asheville on vacation in 2010 was saved.

Scully and Westmoreland said they consider themselves lucky considering many neighboring businesses were located lower down and were more severely affected.

They said they were optimistic that they would not have to experience another flood event for a long time, but that it was inevitable that it would happen again.

Scully said the redesign will be strategic, raising the building higher and rearranging electrical panels and other systems to be more durable.

Owners not ready to retire

Scully said they took out a loan from the Small Business Association in 2004 for about $300,000 to rebuild and still owe $40,000, which they plan to pay off within a few years.

Westmoreland said the SBA loan was a lifeline keeping the business afloat. They took out a new SBA loan to get rid of Helene.

“I think we both thought, ‘Should we just sell the building as is and ride off into the sunset?'” Westmoreland said. “There are days when we think ‘” he said. “However. … this is not part of our make-up.”

Corner Kitchen will return because restaurateurs are not ready to retire and have invested a lot.

Other motivations include bringing back more than 50 employees laid off after the storm and maintaining business with local vendors, including farms, dairies and beverage manufacturers, Westmoreland said.

“We love Asheville. We are one of the first restaurants to create good, wholesome, handcrafted food that we can feel good about. We are not pioneers, but we love the second wave,” Scully said. “The idea of ​​Biltmore Village and Asheville, the circular economy and working farmers; everything we’ve done over the years has value and needs to be preserved.”

Biltmore Village is symbiotic, with Corner Kitchen and its neighbors generating customer traffic for each other, and it would be a significant loss if the restaurant were to leave, Scully said.

“We’ve become a source of income for everyone here, and the same goes for the Biltmore Estate,” Scully said. “There would be no Biltmore Village without the Biltmore Estate. Without Corner Kitchen, many venues would not have the same volume. “It has economic value not only for us but also for other people.”

Chestnut will reopen on November 14 with menu changes

Scully said Corner Kitchen and Chestnut have an excellent job retention rate, and factors like a living wage, full health benefits and a 401K make working at the restaurant a career. But he said many people left the city soon after the storm and may not return.

Westmoreland said it’s understandable for some people to find another job, but he would welcome everyone back when the restaurant temporarily reopens in April or May.

Scully said about 57 employees were laid off in Chestnut due to the storm. They began returning as the restaurant prepared to resume service.

On November 14, Chestnut will reopen, offering brunch and dinner daily. Previously, brunch was only available on weekends. The extended hours are intended to create job opportunities for displaced Corner Kitchen staff.

Chestnut’s revised menu will feature a variety of Corner Kitchen signature dishes. A portion of dessert sales will be donated to local nonprofit called Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa, which supports the rebuilding of Swannanoa.

Standing in front of Corner Kitchen, Scully and Westmoreland recalled the many years they spent at the restaurant, raising their children and building lasting relationships with their team and community members.

“I love that we have this restaurant, this staff, and the people who have been coming to see us for the last 20 years. It’s part of our lives,” Westmoreland said.

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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and has worked in arts, entertainment and hospitality in Louisiana for several years. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage.

This article first appeared in the Asheville Citizen Times: Biltmore Village’s Corner Kitchen, gutted by Helene, promises to reopen