Product: ASHBrd
PubDate: 10-22-2011 Zone: ACT Edition: 1 Page: Features-F User: bellege
ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES • CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
Time: 10-18-2011 16:26 Color: K Y M C
HOME & GARDEN
CHARM: TOWN OPEN TO VISITORS
Weaverville business directory Antiques/Art » Art Accents, 1 S. Main St., 658-9133; www.art-accents.com. » Mangum Pottery Studio and Gallery, 16 N. Main St., 645-4929 or www.mangum pottery.com. » Miya Gallery, 20 N. Main St., 658-9655 or www.miya gallery.com. » Preservation Hall, 115 N. Main St., 645-1047 or www.preservation-hall.com. » Shop Around the Corner, 55 N. Main St., 777-9206 or 775-2499 or http://shoparound thecorner.blogspot.com.
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— all within easy walking distance of the friendly parking lot. There’s something strangely inviting about almost every storefront downtown, whether it’s an elaborate window dressing, cozy tables for al fresco dining, happy flowers in pots or just an open door that beckons a visitor to see what’s inside. Rob Mangum brings his well-mannered dog to work at his gallery and studio, leaving his door open so passers-by can glimpse the spectacular artistry of Mangum Pottery or just stop by to chat and pet the pup. His studio is “the oldest of the new” businesses downtown, opening 14 years ago when Main Street wasn’t nearly as vibrant and eclectic as it is today. The vibe started buzzing a little more when Miya Gallery opened a few years later, followed nine years ago by the Well-Bred Bakery and Café, which acts as one of the hubs of Main Street. “Honestly, it was really sleepy when we came here,” said bakery owner Judy Glicken, who also is president of the 50-member Weaverville Business Association. “Now, we’re a cohesive downtown neighborhood — and it is a real neighborhood.” Glicken said she thinks of the bakery as “kind of the heart of the town,” and it seems that way — filled at all hours with other shop-owners grabbing a bite, lawyers doing business over coffee and baklava, town residents relaxing with laptops and lattes. “And now there’s so much more,” Glicken said. “Miya Gallery is such a fabulous place, and the fabulous aabani Salon on the corner, and the new Jack of Hearts down the street — it’s kind of like Weaverville is finally coming together.”
Generous neighbors
Dan Ward, owner with his wife, Nancy, of the Inn on Main Street Bed & Breakfast, said what impresses him the most about Weaverville is that it’s “kept its innocence.” “We describe it as a cosmopolitan Mayberry,” said Ward, who’s operated the B&B for 13 years. “You can go down to the WellBred Bakery and get a latte and a New York Times and be in the middle of Manhattan, but you’re not — you’re in this tiny little town where everybody knows each other, and it’s still got this laid-back, slow pace.” As an example of the kind of folks who live and work in this tiny little town, Ward points to fellow business owners like Matt Danford, owner of Blue Mountain Pizza, who has donated more than $50,000 to local charities since opening more than seven years ago, and throws a free Thanksgiving meal each year for anyone who wants to come by his restaurant and music hall to share the holiday. Then there’s Rodney Edwards, who runs Rodney’s Auto Service up the street and is constantly sponsoring toy runs and other fundraisers for charities, and keeps the North Buncombe High School football schedule posted on his front window. “Rodney holds these car shows where these motorheads will come out and talk about where to find an old clutch for $40, and he’s done so much in the way of making Weaverville what it is,” Ward said. “He’s not just a good ole boy.” Edwards disagrees. “Ain’t but three of us rednecks left in Weaverville,” he said with twinkling eyes as he worked underneath a Subaru on the rack in his garage. “But I’m about the biggest thing in town — anything that happens on Main Street, I’ve got a hand in it,” he said.
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Beth and Rob Mangum at work making pottery at Mangum Potter Studio and Gallery in downtown Weaverville. JOHN FLETCHER/JFLETCHER@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM Edwards left the Subaru and walked to the front of his lot. “Let me show you something,” he said, pointing to his business sign, which carries the words, “God is in control.” “That’s why I’m doing such good business, that right there,” he said. “I’m just doing honest work.”
‘A really good vibe’
Across the street from Rodney’s is Shope’s Furniture, which has been in the spot on Main Street since 1942 and has been handed down to the third generation, Scott Shope — one of the other two “rednecks” Edwards laughingly referred to. Shope, an avid golfer, proudly displays on his counter a framed, autographed photograph of Billy Graham in waders, holding a fishing rod and a freshly caught fish. “My grandfather took him on his first trout-fishing trip, to the South Toe River,” Shope said proudly. A young mother with two boys came into the furniture store to make a payment by check, and Shope handed her a handwritten, paper receipt. As he conducted the transaction, he asked about the family, and she referred to one of the boys’ academic accomplishments. “Who’s his teacher?”
Shope asked with interest, and the conversation continued in that direction. Shope may be part of the old guard on Main Street, but it doesn’t stop him from renting space in his building to an edgy yoga studio. And he has nothing but praise for the “new” downtown. “Seems like the pulse has really picked up. … There was a time downtown almost flat-lined, but we’ve got a host of people, like Rob down at Mangum, who’ve brought in new blood and a really good vibe,” he said. “It’s about as tight as I’ve ever seen it,” Shope said. “We’ve got a real good sense of community.” Seems like everyone on Main Street is watching out for each other. Merchants put water bowls for dogs outside their front doors. The clerk at the Weaverville Drug Co.’s ice cream counter making a sweet confection for a customer pauses with her spoon in a jar to ask, “Do you like it really peanuty?” The area around the town clock is beautifully maintained by members of the Weaverville Garden Club who, instead of asking the town government to keep it beautiful, just do it themselves. Brown’s Floral Design across from the bakery donated miles of pink satin
ribbon to help support three local women who are taking part in today’s Avon Walk breast cancer fundraiser in Charlotte, and 25 Weaverville businesses donated a portion of the day’s sales to the cause on “Pink Day,” Oct. 6. One of those women, Nan Leininger, moved to Weaverville with her husband after “literally living around the world” as a result of his work with the State Department. “We were going to spend three years looking for the perfect place to retire,” she said, recalling a visit to the town in 2008. “Three days later, we bought our lot. And I’ve never regretted it once.” Glicken ran a multimillion-dollar bakery business with 150 employees in New York City before moving to Weaverville 13 years ago, fully planning to “chill out and relax — I had no intention of getting back in the baking business.” After a few years, she “got the itch” and opened the Well-Bred, and can’t imagine being happier than she is in her adopted hometown, where she lives two minutes from the bakery. “I call Weaverville the best of small-town living,” Glicken said. “And for a gal from New York City, that’s saying a lot.”
Accommodations » Dry Ridge Inn, 26 Brown St., 658-3899, 800-839-3899 or www.dryridgeinn.com. » Inn on Main St. B&B, 88 S. Main St., 645-4935 or www.innonmain.com.
Clothing/Sporting Goods/Pet Care » Curtis Wright Outfitters, 24 N. Main St., 645-8700 or www.curtiswrightoutfitters.com. » Sea Scapes Aquariums & Pet Supplies, Retail Outlet at The Weaverville Market, 68 Monticello Road, 658-2389. » Weaverville Pet Pantry, 25/70 & Monticello Road, southwest corner, 484-9247 .
Home & Garden » Brown’s Floral Design, 25 N. Main St., 645-6544 or www.brownsfloraldesign.com and www.browns weddingdesign.com. » Dry Ridge Stone, 34 Hamburg Drive, 645-0823. » Reems Creek Nursery & Landscaping, 70 Monticello Road, 645-3937 or www.reemscreek.com. » Shecology, 713-4031 or www.shecology.com. » Shope's Furniture, 31 N. Main St., 645-3091 .
Restaurants/Food » Blue Mountain Pizza, 55 N. Main St., 658-8778 or www.bluemountainpizza.com. » Maggie B's Wine Bar and Specialty Shop, 113 N. Main St., 645-1111 or www.maggieb swine.com. » Mike’s Main St. Grill, 5 S. Main St., 645-5500 or www.mikesmainSt.grill.com. » Weaverville Milling Co. Restaurant, 1 Old Mill Lane, 645-4700 or www.weaverville milling.com.
» Well Bred Bakery & Cafe, 26 N. Main St., 645-9300 or www.well-bredbakery.com.
Salons & Spas » aabani Salon & Spa, 12 North Main St., 484-8488 or www.aabani.com. » A Way to Heal Massage, 337-9245. » Dry Ridge Family Medicine, Dr. Nicole Ogg, 104 N Main St. 645-7974. » Massage Therapy and Bodywork, 113 N Main St, Suite B, 545-9763. » Optix Eyewear Art, Kim Walters, O.D., P.A., 49 North Buncombe Middle School Road, 645-0061 or www.optix-eye.com. » Weaverville Drug Company, 3 N. Main St., 645-3087 or www.weavervilledrug.com. » Weaverville Eye Associates, Dr. Douglas C. Hauschild, PLLC, 40 N. Main St., 658-0564.
Services » Allstate: The Tarrants Agency, 52 S. Main St., 6582295. » Carolina First, 150 Weaver Blvd., 645-6610. » Century 21 Mountain Lifestyles, Hwy 25/70, 1 mile west, 658-2264 . » Dry Ridge Appraisal Service, 29 N. Main St., 6451050. » Edward Jones, Bill Boughton, financial advisor, 61 Weaver Blvd., 645-0341. » Home Trust Bank, 76 N. Main St., 645-4277 or www.hometrustbanking.com. » M7 Realty Solutions, 55 N. Main St., 645-5600 . » Mercer Design Group, 205 Flat Creek Village Drive, 6457088 or www.mercer designgroup.com. » Norman Riddle Law Offices, 5 Blueberry Ridge, 658-0077. » North End Computers, 68 Monticello Road, 484-8444 or www.north-endcomputers.com. » RBC Bank, 81 Weaver Blvd., 645-2300 . » Root & Root Law, 22 N. Main St., 645-7080. » State Farm Insurance Agency, Tammy Allison, 41 Monticello Road, 645-5511 or www.statefarm.com. » United Country: Peregrine Properties, 2 S. Main St., Suite 1, 658-8441 . » Wallace Shealy Real Estate, 581-4603 . » Weaverville Realty, Cindy & John Ward, owners/brokers, 658-0700 .