Downtown Black Mountain sees business revival and ongoing recovery efforts after Helene

BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. (WLOS) — Many small shops in Downtown Black Mountain are back in business six weeks after Hurricane Helene.

Lauren Pope, the manager at Mountain Running Company in Downtown, is thrilled toreconnect with the customers again.

“It’s great to be back and to see people and have a sense of normalcy,” Pope said.

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She said she still feels a sense of distance and a lingering sense of separation within the community.

“The community still is hurting; it feels like there’s still so many things to do,” she said.

Though the town has reopened, many businesses still face the brunt financially.

Pope said many businesses are in the rebuilding phase, which may require a facelift, and it’s more than just its infrastructure.

It’s a pivot that Pope said could ultimately drive renewed growth and success.

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“Figure out what you do best and see how you can apply that to somewhere in the community,” she said. “Find your niche, even if it isn’t in the community.”

Her businesschose to adapt in the wake of Helene, shifting their core business to explore a new direction, which proved successful.

“We’re really lucky — we as a company are really lucky because we didn’t suffer a lot of inventory loss,” Pope said. “That is kind of what we did before we knew what the heck to do before opening.”