Zuma Coffee owner Joel Friedman announces the reopening date

MARSHALL — When The News-Record first visited Zuma Coffee owner Joel Friedman, days after Tropical Storm Helene’s devastation in downtown Marshall, Friedman said at the time he would reopen.

Now the owner has detailed plans for a reopening date.

The News-Record visited with Friedman again on Nov. 22, and the owner said the plan is to reopen the business in April, using a scaled-back version to start.

‘Believe it, grieve it, let it go’

The News-Record spoke to Friedman in downtown Marshall on Oct. 7, just 10 days after the Zuma founder watched the floods destroy downtown Marshall and his store from the window of his third-floor apartment in Capitola Mill, just across the street. bridge, opposite Blannahassett Island.

“I could see it, believe it, grieve it and let it go, along with that river, all in the same movement,” Friedman said.

Friedman said on Oct. 7 that he was fortunate that things went well.

“The good thing is I’m doing well, I’m strong,” Friedman said on October 7. “Zuma will be there. It will be different, but better. I am going to rebuild. I have had a life mission for 23 years. It is not over yet. I have to do it differently now.”

Zuma has been a fixture in downtown Marshall since its founding in 2002. It helps revitalize the city and serves as a cultural center for residents to gather and drink coffee, eat and interact.

But the most indelible impact was its musical legacy, as the coffee shop and eatery hosted Bobby Hicks’ bluegrass jams for years.

Heather West, general manager of Hot Springs Resort and Spa, told The News-Record that she felt Helene’s business provided opportunities for self-exploration and reinvention.

Friedman said Helene has also shaped his perspective, telling The News-Record that he has already experienced a reawakening and renewed outlook in the aftermath of the flood.

“(Seeing the floods) was the most remarkable feeling,” Friedman said. “It was absolutely incredible to see that, knowing it was all gone, and being OK with that. It was absolutely liberating.

“I hold myself differently. I speak differently. I listen so much better than ever before. I pay more attention than ever before. It has changed the person I am from the inside out. What an amazing gift. I needed change in my life. I have the change in my life, it has finally happened.

‘The Heartbeat’

Friedman and other Zuma employees serve coffee and some pastries from a food truck. Friedman and the team started serving drinks and pastries at Nanostead, a sustainable construction company that has coordinated relief, cleanup and mutual aid efforts in Marshall.

Depot owner Pat Franklin’s son Bob coordinated the purchase of the truck, according to Friedman, who said Zuma’s signature coffee brand Counter Culture generously donated coffee to him for charity.

“They even loaned me an espresso machine,” Friedman said.

Zuma operates on a donation-based format.

“It has been healing not only for me, but for our customers and the community,” Friedman said. “It’s been a big part of people’s routines for the last 23 years.”

Lately, Friedman has been driving the truck on the north side of downtown Marshall, across from Star Diner.

According to the Zuma owner, over the past 23 years the coffee shop has served as a community builder, bringing together the various, disparate isolated communities into a more unified, cohesive whole.

“When I moved here, there was community, but the communities were Big Pine and Little Pine and Spillcorn and Shelton Laurel and Sodom Laurel,” Friedman said. “They were all within their communities. There was no community downtown. This created community downtown, so all those neighbors got to know each other.”

Now, more than a month after the food truck opened, Friedman said Helene has had a similar impact.

“I have to quote my friend Sean Murphy here, who said, ‘We all started out as friends here in Marshall, especially downtown, but after this event we all became family.’

‘It’s really true. We have become much closer to each other. With all the turmoil going on right now, this has been the only kind of comfort zone.”

News of the store’s reopening is music to the ears of so many Western North Carolina residents, many of whom still make the temporary coffee cart a regular stop on their commute.

Alfredo Brenes is a UPS driver whose route takes him through Marshall. Brenes is originally from Chicago and now lives in West Asheville.

“I always tell everybody, like all my relatives that come, friends, family, I say, ‘Man, I gotta get y’all out here,’” Brenes said.

“I always brag about this place.”

Sam Bingham and his wife moved to Madison County in 2007. The couple taught for seven years at Mars Hill University, where they taught journalism courses.

“We kind of grew up with Zuma,” said Bingham, who worked for the Asheville Citizen Times in high school. “We’ve been very consistent customers.”

The Binghams built their home in 2014. Bingham, who grew up in Asheville, says he remembers growing up and hearing his family talk about the 1916 floods, but he never imagined the damage Helene caused.

“We knew it was possible, but there was nothing like this,” Bingham said. “We live eight kilometers from here and have had no damage. So it’s all really horrific.”

“But Joel has become such a fixture. To have him back here with his truck is great.”

Michelle and Michael Dougherty live in Spring Creek and were in Marshall on November 22 on other errands, but knew they had to stop to get a “cup of joe” and visit Joel at the truck.

“This is the most important place in Marshall,” Michael Dougherty said. “If this place were to go under, the heartbeat would be gone. This is not only the heartbeat, but it is the spirit of this community. Everyone knows him.’

The Doughertys have lived in Madison County for ten years. In 2019, Michelle Dougherty, a tree artist, collaborated with Zuma to produce a Japanese bonsai tree display, “Planet of Trees in a Visible Fortress.”

“If Zuma comes back, the whole city will come back,” Michelle Dougherty said.

More: Downtown Marshall’s Zuma Coffee celebrates 20 years

More: Amid the rubble in Marshall, residents warn of toxic conditions during Helene cleanup

More: Hot Springs Resort offers a first look at the damage from Tropical Storm Helene; Will it reopen?

More: Capitola Mill, the site of a new spa, serves as one of Marshall’s artistic, cultural centers

More: Marshall’s Capitola Mill is being renovated into a luxury apartment complex

Although Friedman said there are times when morale can get a little low as the enormity of the city’s rebuilding — as well as his company’s — creeps up on him, the community has a way of rejuvenating him.

“I notice that everyone is watching each other,” he said. “That’s one of the things that’s really struck me, is that friends who have been friends for a long time now show up and check on you. They call and come over here to make sure you’re okay. It’s tangible stuff. It really is. Where.’

As he looks ahead to the reopening of the coffee shop and eatery, Friedman said he is just as excited as his fellow community members.

“I see a palette here,” Friedman said. “I see a blank canvas, a color palette, and we will repaint the future here. It’s absolutely amazing what we can do here.”

Johnny Casey covered Madison County for three years for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel. He won first place in beat news reporting at the 2023 North Carolina Press Association Awards. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Zuma Coffee Owner Joel Friedman Announces Reopening Date After Helene