Biltmore Village Blossoms With Business Openings - TribPapers
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Biltmore Village Blossoms With Business Openings

New Morning Gallery just celebrated their grand reopening. Photo submitted by Kara Irani.

Asheville – Iconic Biltmore Village is coming back to life as stores, galleries, and restaurants begin to reopen. There is a palpable sense of hope and gratitude when you speak to the people who have been diligently working to restore the village to its former glory, often with improvements that enhance its appeal.

The larger anchor businesses, including Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, New Morning Gallery, The Grand Bohemian Lodge, Palm Village, and JW Bell, are now open. They have all expressed appreciation for the support they received from local residents and businesses that helped them reach this point. The outlook is very positive.

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse

Ruth’s Chris was able to reopen after just two weeks. The floodwaters stopped two feet short of the building, but like the rest of Asheville, they had no water. “We were very fortunate to be able to open so quickly after the hurricane hit. Having support from the local community and offering our guests some sense of normalcy was a true blessing,” said Trish Gunningham, Sales Manager for Ruth’s Chris.

General Manager Kenneth Pace shared that the steakhouse is a family-owned business and a franchise. He noted how the family came together to respond to the needs of the Asheville location. “Every leader in the organization had their part to play in getting us up and running again. Even our HR department offered financial assistance to our employees from our own funding. The whole company sold specially made Ruth’s Chris T-shirts at other stores to support Asheville employees,” said Pace.

The Rans family, owners of the restaurant, worked hard to assist employees and also hosted all of the fire departments and police personnel that flocked to the area, providing them with free meals as a gesture of appreciation. In return, the local community navigated roadblocks and debris to support Ruth’s Chris financially by continuing to patronize the restaurant. Pace said, “It was truly humbling. They consistently came by to support our business and employees. We are grateful and so happy to see the progress Biltmore Village is making.”

New Morning Gallery

New Morning Gallery reopened on May 14. The interiors look fabulous, and the gallery feels fresh and cheerful. This beautiful gallery supports many local artists affected by the storm while also collaborating with artists from across the country to ensure they can still offer incredible art pieces. Kara Irani, Marketing Director for New Morning Gallery and Director of Public Relations with the Historic Biltmore Village Association, said, “We are thrilled to have our doors back open again. We’re all working hard to make sure the Biltmore Village area comes back even stronger.”

Neal Reed, Director of Operations for New Morning, shared, “Our business, our neighbors, our staff, and our artists all experienced significant challenges because of the storm—and working together is what keeps us motivated and moving forward. We were thrilled to be able to reopen after 231 days of challenge and start working on the next phase of our recovery, the economics.”

Grand Bohemian Lodge Asheville

The Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville, now known as Grand Bohemian Lodge Asheville, reopened on May 8, 2025, following extensive renovations after being damaged by Hurricane Helene. The reopening marks a significant milestone in the recovery of Biltmore Village. General Manager Matthew Lehman stated in an interview, “In the grand scheme of things, to go from the devastation that we suffered to welcoming back into our property in such a short amount of time is really remarkable.”

The restoration includes new furnishings, an expanded art gallery, booths for more privacy in The Red Stag Grill, a redesigned wine room, and a new 450-square-foot meeting space added to the Manor House.

Palm Village and JW Bell

Palm Village, a Lily Pulitzer Signature Store, and JW Bell share a building at the corner of All Soul’s Crescent. They were fortunate to open a pop-up shop at the historic Biltmore School after their building was damaged by Helene but are now reopened in their original location. Ben Mitchell of Biltmore Property Group said, “We were really, really grateful for the support we got from the community during that period, and they are really continuing to do so as we’ve gotten reopened down here in the village.”

These businesses have invested significant time, money, and love into revitalizing Biltmore Village. Gunningham concluded by saying, “Through it all we looked out for one another, we lifted each other up, and we proved just how strong Asheville really is.” These businesses need our continued support to fully recover, so please visit them and bring your friends.