Asheville, WNC restaurants receive $10k grants in Tropical Storm Helene aftermath

ASHEVILLE – New Orleans’ restaurant industry ― all too familiar with the indelible impact of a hurricane long after its passing ― rallied to uplift Western North Carolina’s culinary community after facing the historic, deadly and devastating Tropical Storm Helene in the fall.

Helene, which made landfall as a tropical storm in Asheville on Sept. 27, wreaked havoc and set off a domino effect that included business closures, flooded and pummeled buildings, customer declines and inaccessibility to potable water when the city’s water supply at North Fork Reservoir was compromised.

In response, 20 esteemed New Orleans chefs organized 13 curated dinners for the Cooks for Carolina initiative, which raised $100,000 to support small, independent restaurants in the Asheville area impacted by Helene.

Participating New Orleans establishments included Brasa, Cochon Restaurant at Calcasieu, Commander’s Palace, Galatoire’s, Lilette, Mister Mao and Rosedale The Wine Bar at Emeril’s.

“We know what they are going through in North Carolina,” John Harris, New Orleans chef-owner of Lilette and Bouligny Tavern and organizer of Cooks for Carolina, said in a news release. “Asheville is such a beautiful part of the country, and I love spending time there, so it’s especially important to me to support these chefs and restaurants. I want to see them survive and come back stronger.”

Cooks for Carolina grant awardees

The Cooks for Carolina dinner series, which ran from November to December, was hosted in New Orleans. All proceeds from the dining events were donated to Explore Asheville’s Always Asheville Fund, established to assist local businesses to reopen and retain employees post-Helene.

On Jan. 13, the 10 local restaurants were presented with $10,000 grant awards ― All Day Darling, Baby Bull, The Bull and Beggar, Cucina24, Good Hot Fish, Gourmand, Table and Tall Johns in Asheville, The Bush Farmhouse in Black Mountain and Zella’s Deli in Swannanoa.

Ashleigh Shanti, chef and owner of Good Hot Fish, said she is grateful for the grant as it will help keep the South Slope restaurant, which opened in January 2024, afloat through its first full winter in business. Although winter is known to be a slow season, she predicted it would be one of the slowest Asheville has experienced.

“We’d planned to continue to pay staff during our closure and that would have been painfully difficult after Helene, but it was important to me to keep our word to staff, especially after seeing them show up for the community in such a major way through this,” Shanti said.

Peyton Barrell, chef and co-owner of Gourmand, said every dollar counts in the recovery stages. He said grants are needed instead of loans that must be repaid or require detailed audits.

“It’s a great-faith-style grant that’s like, ‘If you’re a small business, here’s the money, go do what you do,'” Barrell said.

Gourmand was slated to open on Foundy Street in the River Arts District in November but was knocked off its foundation and sustained significant damage. The restaurant’s losses included newly installed high-ticket equipment in the renovated building.

Gourmand will tentatively open in Spring 2026 at the same Foundy Street location.

Ally cities and collaborations

Vic Isley, president and chief executive officer of Explore Asheville, said in a news release on Jan. 15 that the Always Asheville Fund and Cooks for Carolina initiative had allocated more than $1.3 million in emergency grants to local businesses.

Isley said the grants are intended to help “preserve the creative spirit of the mountain community” and assist in its long-term recovery.

Isley thanked Harris and Liz Bodet for their leadership and coordinating efforts in Cooks for Carolina.

“We are truly grateful for the generosity shown by New Orleans’ hospitality community, and we look forward to deepening the connections between our cities,” Isley said.

Barrell said Jacob Sessoms, a local chef whose restaurants include All Day Darling and Table, was instrumental in coordinating and driving the initiative in Asheville.

Trevor Payne, chef and owner of Tall John’s in the historic Montford district, visited New Orleans to assist with Cooks for Carolina events, along with Barrell, Sessoms and Matt Dawes, chef and co-owner of The Bull and Beggar and Baby Bull.

Payne called his time in the “Crescent City” a powerful shared experience between the chefs and the city’s residents who had experienced Hurricane Katrina.

“It was a wonderful experience for me,” Payne said. “I got to interact with people I admire in New Orleans. It was a meaningful trip for the timing of it and for the interactions with all the chefs down there.”

Payne said he, like many area restaurant owners, had to take out loans due to Helene and the $10,000 grant will help the business continue. However, he said it’s inevitable that some other local restaurants won’t survive.

Barrell, who used to live in New Orleans, said Louisianans were encouraging, in good spirits and empathic to the Asheville restaurant community.

“The conversations were forward-thinking, like, ‘We’re raising the money, we’re doing the things right now to get the track back to normal, and even though there may be a long road back to normalcy there’s always light at the end of the tunnel,'” Barrell said.

Stories you may have missed:

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Tips, comments, questions? Email [email protected] or follow @PrincessOfPage on Instagram/Bluesky.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: $100k in grants awarded to Helene-impacted Asheville, WNC restaurants