Featured
Asheville's Business Climate Is Anything but Ordinary
Asheville’s creative vibe is evident all around the city, from its museums and galleries to the people who live here. And that creativity spills over into the local business scene, which is rife with quirky entrepreneurs and unconventional small businesses.Major Employers Asheville enjoys a low unemployment rate and strong job growth, which are fueled by a stable population growth, a healthy housing market, robust small businesses, health-care industry growth and a steady tourism industry... Read More »
Asheville, Buncombe County Work With State to Land Linamar Corporation
By capitalizing on years of bringing everyone to the table, Asheville and Buncombe County economic development officials now can add global manufacturer Linamar to their roster of success stories.The Canadian firm, which makes parts of engines, transmissions and drive trains at facilities around the world, has taken over a former Volvo plant in south Asheville. After some retooling, the facility will supply precision-machined components to customers of Linamar’s Industrial, Commercial and... Read More »
Leading Outdoor Gear, Apparel Companies in Asheville See Bright Future
It’s known as the great outdoors. In Asheville, that word can also describe the future of outdoor-product companies – great.A few of the successful organizations that are poised for prosperous years in this area, rich with natural resources, include Pyrahna Mouldings (a British-based kayaks and canoe company with an Asheville location), Astral Buoyancy Company, (which specializes in clothing, primarily buoyancy jackets), Columbia and The North Face.
The new Nantahala... Read More »
Asheville-Buncombe College Offers Many Workforce Programs
Exciting news occurred in Asheville in July 2011 on a couple of fronts.First of all, Canadian-based Linamar Corp. announced that it is investing $125 million to establish a construction-equipment parts manufacturing plant in Asheville that will create 400 jobs. Adding to the excitement is that Linamar chose Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College to provide an array of pre-hire training for employee candidates, then A-B Tech will also provide post-hire, on-the-job follow-up training.... Read More »
Green, Environmental Companies Flourish In Asheville
Business leaders say that not only do environmentally sound practices help keep Buncombe County beautiful, they also make for higher profits and a more stable economy. In a county where tourism generates a $1.9 billion annual economic impact, the lessons learned could help keep the region attractive for generations to come.
Danny's Dumpster Turns Restaurants Green
Twenty-seven tons of trash. That's how much waste Danny Keaton's company diverts from the landfill each week by making it easier for... Read More »
Downtown Asheville Embodies the City’s Distinctive Creative Energy
Byron Greiner says that one of the most popular local bumper stickers in this city states: Keep Asheville Weird.
The president of the Asheville Downtown Association points out that the entire community – especially its downtown district – is known for artistry and eccentricities throughout its retail stores and restaurants.
“Downtown Asheville is not chain-driven. Instead, it has a variety of businesses that are independent and unusual in their own separate ways,” Greiner says. “The district is... Read More »
Wealth of Data and Alliances Put Asheville on Leading Front of Climate Research
Since the days of our founding fathers, notably Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, Americans have been fascinated with weather – watching it, experiencing it and recording their observations.
Over the past half-century, Asheville has played a key role in the collection, storage and analysis of such data – including some from Jefferson and Franklin – as the home of the National Climatic Data Center, or NCDC, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.... Read More »
Moog Music Headquarters Revives Portion of Downtown Asheville
Moog Music, an eclectic and iconic Asheville manufacturing company, relocated in 2011 to a long-neglected location at the city’s northern gateway, a move made in part to revive, refresh and lead to more private investment in the immediate area. The company, which has designed, engineered and manufactured electronic musical instruments in Asheville since 1994, has purchased the vacant buildings at 160-170 Broadway St., and is spending $2.5 million to refurbish and update the facilities as... Read More »
Asheville's Top Employers
Asheville has both low unemployment and strong job growth. Fueling the area's sound business climate are stable population growth, a healthy housing market, expanding professional services, robust small business and health-care industry growth and a steady tourism industry.These are the area's biggest employers.3,000+ Employees Buncombe County Public SchoolsIngles Markets, Inc. (Home Office) Buncombe CountyMission Health System and Hospital1,000-2,999 Employees City of AshevilleThe Biltmore... Read More »
Lexington Avenue Is One of Asheville's Hip and Happening Streets
From handmade paper journals to vintage clothing, French fare to Indian cuisine, Lexington Avenue is not your average thoroughfare.
That is why Michel Baudouin decided in 2005 to locate his French restaurant in the heart of the Lexington Avenue district. His Bouchon bistro has been a terrific success ever since.
“Lexington is an eclectic street where different types of businesses mix very well,” says Baudouin, who is the owner and chef of Bouchon, located at 62 N. Lexington Ave. “The avenue... Read More »
Historic Grove Arcade Is a Thriving Shopping and Dining Destination
The vision of Edwin Wiley Grove was responsible for Asheville landmarks such as the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa and the second Battery Park Hotel.
But Grove did not live to see the completion of his final project, the Grove Arcade. Conceived in the early 1920s, Grove’s “city within walls” did not open until 1929, two years after Grove’s death.
Nevertheless, the historic structure fulfilled Grove’s expectations, bustling with business and commercial activity for 13 years.
Then, during World... Read More »
