Hurricane Helene didn’t just batter Asheville’s buildings when it roared through in late September 2024. The storm gutted the heart of a mountain community where food culture pulses through every neighborhood, every gathering, every celebration.
Silver and Cherry Iocovozzi felt that devastation firsthand at Neng Jr.’s, their Filipino fine dining restaurant. Water lines went dry. Power grids failed. The very infrastructure that keeps restaurants breathing simply stopped.
Yet something remarkable emerged from the wreckage. As of May 2025, most downtown establishments have reopened, with South Asheville leading the recovery charge.
Community Kitchens Become Lifelines
When the immediate crisis hit, restaurants transformed from businesses into lifelines. Katie Button, the James Beard-nominated chef behind Cúrate, partnered with World Central Kitchen to serve free meals from her Spanish tapas restaurant. The kitchen that once crafted delicate small plates now churned out comfort food for neighbors without power or clean water.
The scale of need was staggering. Asheville’s food and beverage sector employs over 12% of the local workforce and generates 20% of Buncombe County’s GDP. When Hurricane Helene struck, it didn’t just close restaurants temporarily. It threatened to unravel the economic and cultural fabric of the entire region.
But Asheville’s chefs refused to let their community starve—literally or figuratively.
Innovation Born from Necessity
Chef Jacob Sessoms at The Radical understood that recovery required more than just local efforts. He organized Cooks for Carolina, a dinner series that brought together over 20 New Orleans chefs with Asheville restaurateurs. These collaborative dinners raised approximately $300,000 for the Always Asheville Fund, providing emergency grants directly to struggling restaurants.
“It put about $10,000″ in the hand of multiple restaurants that were able to immediately put it towards either work that needed to be done, reprovisioning to reopening,” Sessoms explains.
Meanwhile, the Iocovozzis took their show on the road, hosting pop-up dinners in New York to recover lost income while maintaining their connection to the culinary community. These creative adaptations showcase how mountain resilience meets culinary innovation.
The Slow Return to Normal
When Neng Jr.’s finally reopened on December 11, 2024, after potable water returned to their neighborhood, the moment carried weight beyond a simple business resumption. The staff found themselves navigating conversations with customers about trauma, loss, and recovery—topics that don’t typically accompany fine dining experiences.
New establishments like Good Hot Fish and Taqueria Rosita have opened their doors, bringing fresh flavors to a community hungry for renewal. Coffee shops like Summit Coffee and High Five Coffee provide daily gathering spaces where residents can process their experiences over familiar cups of comfort.
Looking Forward
Katie Button’s message to potential visitors carries both invitation and urgency: “If you’ve been thinking of visiting Asheville, now’s the time to do it.” Tourism dollars don’t just fill restaurant coffers—they validate that this mountain community’s spirit remains unbroken. Unlike destinations such as Hawaii that are experiencing tourism declines, Asheville actively welcomes visitors as partners in its recovery story.
Visitors can support recovery efforts by dining at downtown establishments, which have largely reopened, or exploring South Asheville’s thriving restaurant scene. Pop-up dinners at venues like Golden Hour continue celebrating resilience through shared meals.
Similar to how Saudi female chefs are preserving their culinary traditions, Asheville’s restaurateurs understand that food culture requires intentional stewardship to survive generational challenges. These gatherings represent more than food service. They’re acts of cultural preservation, ensuring that Asheville’s culinary identity survives and thrives. The collaborative spirit that emerged from Hurricane Helene’s devastation has become the secret ingredient powering the city’s comeback—one meal at a time.
