Asheville – If you are missing some of your favorite Biltmore Village shops, there’s good news. The JW Bell and Palm Village shops have opened a “pop-up shop” at the Historic Biltmore School. Located on the third floor of the old school building on Vanderbilt Drive off Hendersonville Road, you can browse through high-end men’s wear and Lilly Pulitzer apparel just in time for Christmas.
Rain, Rain Everywhere!
The building that normally houses these shops is situated at the lowest point in Biltmore Village, so the floodwaters nearly covered the structure. However, that hasn’t stopped the owners and employees from working to provide the same excellent service.
William Tepper, President of JW Bell, is also with the Biltmore Property Group (BPG), which manages multiple properties in the historic village that was severely affected by Tropical Storm Helene. Tepper received a call Wednesday evening from an employee asking if he really wanted them to leave, as the water was rising. Tepper requested a picture, then jumped in his car and drove to the store.
“A lot of people don’t really understand that it was two storms,” said Tepper. The first storm lasted two days and saturated the ground before Helene even hit. Tepper explained, “It was very unexpected. We had planned on doing most of our prep work Thursday, getting everything ready for Friday’s storm.” But Wednesday night marked the beginning of the problems. Street flooding impacted one of the BPG parking garages, prompting Tepper and others to work on pumping water out of the garage.
With only a few hours of sleep, they continued their efforts on Thursday as the rain persisted. By midday, they realized they were facing a significant issue. At 2 PM, they rented a U-Haul and began pulling merchandise to move it to the Biltmore School’s third-floor space. They worked until about 4:30 AM on Friday. “We cleared out the whole JW Bell store, minus some fixtures, and got probably 80% of Palm Village out, minus fixtures,” shared Tepper. Many other retailers in the village moved their products to the second story, thinking that would be high enough. “You’re talking about levels of water that have never been seen before,” he noted. Unfortunately, it wasn’t high enough.
JW Bell Goes Back To Its Roots
JW Bell is a traditional upscale men’s wear brand with a history dating back to 1929. During the Depression years, JW “Bill” Bell created the original pop-up. Throughout the 1930s and WWII, JW’s trucks serviced rural communities in Western North Carolina. With his vision and foresight, JW became a business leader in his community and continued to operate his business in the only way he knew how: by serving and delivering. Bill Bell brought clothing to Asheville in 1963, and the business still relies on JW’s founding principles as its guide.
“Then we have Palm Village, which is a Lilly Pulitzer signature store. We carry a full line of Lilly Pulitzer. Between those two, that’s what you’ll find in our pop-up store. The hours are 11 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday, and 10 AM to 3 PM on Saturday. We are closed on Sunday,” said Tepper.
Come Shop With Us!
Tepper wanted to keep the employees working, and they all pitched in to help with cleanup. “Our employees are very loyal; we’ve had some who have been with us since 1963. Everyone was happy to help. I created a GoFundMe for JW Bell and Lilly for the retail employees so we could supplement their income, but shopping at the pop-up is another great way to support our local people and merchants.”