ASHEVILLE – Paula Finlayson, who lives in Virginia Beach, worried she would have to cancel her girls’ trip to Asheville in November after Tropical Storm Helene.
But fortunately the Biltmore Estate and many businesses were open for her visit this weekend.
“I’m so glad it worked out,” she said as she stood on the historic Biltmore grounds. “It’s a Christmas miracle.”
Finlayson was among the stream of visitors at Asheville’s famed tourist destination on Saturday, Nov. 9, as the Western North Carolina region recovers from Helene.
The Biltmore estate and 1895 mansion built by George Vanderbilt typically draws about 5,000 visitors a day during the holidays, when it lights up with more than 55 twinkling Christmas trees.
But this season brings uncertainty as the community grieves over the destruction of Helene on September 27.
As Asheville and surrounding communities work to rebuild and reopen, Biltmore showed beginning signs of recovery Saturday as tourists lined up to buy tickets and took twilight selfies of the landscaped grounds.
The property officially reopened on November 2, and although the buildings suffered no major damage, the 8,000-acre estate lost thousands of trees. The monumental gate entrance suffered some water damage.
More: For four days, Biltmore employees were trapped with 54 horses and fought to find water during Helene
Helene’s winds downed so many trees that the horse stables and their caretakers were trapped for four days by trees blocking roads and the record high water levels of the French Broad River. Elizabether McLean, Biltmore’s equestrian director, told the Citizen Times that she and three other employees camped with 54 horses, cut off from outside help, and fetched clean drinking water from a pristine creek for the horses to drink. All the horses made it through the storm safely, McLean said.
Biltmore spokesperson Marissa Jamison said it drew about 2,700 people on opening day and officials were hoping for larger crowds this weekend, during the busiest time of year through December.
She said the reopening is a signal that the community is on the road to recovery.
“The people coming back is our comeback,” she said.
Recovery at a critical moment
The push to reopen comes at a critical time when visitors are flocking to the area for the colorful fall season.
Last year, visitors contributed $3 billion to Buncombe County’s economy by 2023, according to a VisitNC report in August.
In the wake of Helene, state leaders, including Gov. Roy Cooper, had begged visitors to stay away from Western North Carolina. But at an event in Morgaton on Friday, the governor urged tourists to return.
“Go out and spend your money and help Western North Carolina recover,” he said.
But while businesses need visitors, the area continues to face problems because Asheville lacks safe drinking water.
More: RADFest 1.0 celebrates the soft reopening of the Asheville River Arts District
Officials expected Asheville’s drinking water system to be restored by mid-December.
Biltmore draws from a well on its property and has clean drinking water, but for now many local businesses bring in their own water and use plastic plates and utensils.
The challenges didn’t seem to deter the large number of visitors as they strolled through downtown Asheville on a warm afternoon, visiting the many open bars, shops and restaurants.
‘I’m not sure we can last’
As Biltmore welcomes visitors again, other popular tourist destinations in Asheville were also hoping for a boost in business.
TC DiBella, owner of the Asheville Pinball Museum, a popular listing on TripAdvisor, typically averages about 300 customers per day. On busy days in the past, there would be an hour-long line out the door with customers eager to play vintage pinball machines and arcade games.
DiBella reopened three weeks ago and has seen a fraction of business so far. Last Saturday, November 2, he only had 61 customers.
When the storm hit, DiBella spent two nights at the museum moving pinball machines to prevent water leaks. He worries he may have to sell some of his more valuable games, such as a 1933 Army Navy-themed pinball machine worth about $20,000.
“I’m not sure we can keep it up like this,” he said.
More: After Helene, public housing evictions continue in Asheville. Residents have nowhere to go
Asheville resident David Beckerman played pinball with his wife and two small children to help local businesses.
Beckerman said many locals initially hoped tourists would stay away because of the water problem and scarce resources, but he said sentiment has changed in recent weeks.
“I think most of us understand that we need the company,” he said.
Back to work in Black Mountain
The need for visitors extends far beyond Asheville. About 20 minutes east of the small town of Black Mountain, where tourism is the main driver of the economy, a trickle of visitors strolled the sidewalks and shops on Saturday.
“It’s not zero, but it’s not sustainable at current rates,” said Hopey Bissett, who owns the Mountain Me gift shop with her husband, Bob.
More: Ingles reports up to $55 million in property and inventory losses from Helene
The couple said fall is their busiest time of year, and that’s what keeps them busy through January and February. So far they estimate a loss of turnover of 85-90%.
They hope that the situation will improve again in December or during the Christmas shopping season. The couple said they opened their doors within a week of the disaster to send a sign of hope and healing to the community.
“We wanted to send the message that life is going to get better,” Hopey Bissett said. “It may not be better today, but it will get better.”
More: Old Fort residents recover from Helene: ‘No neighbor left behind, come hell or high water’
Kelly Puente is a journalist with the USA Today Network reporting for the Asheville Citizen Times in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Biltmore Estate, Asheville tourism begins to recover after Helene
