

Kira Bursky’s Helene-inspired art gets ‘powerful’ response
Artist Kira Bursky’s Tropical Storm Helene-inspired art is on display at the West Asheville Library.
ASHEVILLE – Tropical Storm Helene has claimed another local business after the historic, catastrophic storm that arrived in Asheville in late September.
Mountain Made: Asheville Art Gallery has permanently closed at Grove Arcade, 1 Page Ave. downtown.
For 22 years, Mountain Made featured contemporary, eclectic artwork and craft from an average of 80 Western North Carolina artists.
“When Helene hit, that was the sign that, ‘No, we can’t stay here,’” said Melinda Knies, owner. “For the business, it breaks my heart. I love what I do. I had made many friends with artists and customers over the years.”
Mountain Made’s inventory featured wide-ranging arts mediums and works from WNC artists and craftsmen. The collection of fine art paintings, pottery, jewelry, glass art, books and more ranged from $10 to $2,000.
Since the gallery opened, Jason Probstein, a local glass artist, was a represented artist. For 15 years, during the holidays, he held glass demonstrations at the gallery. He said the glass demonstrations were his way of saying “thank you” to Knies.
Probstein said Knies was the backbone of his career, and Mountain Made’s closing is a devastating blow to the local arts community and will be severely missed.
“She was like a beacon of hope when I was struggling as an artist at the beginning of my career,” he said. “She gave me a platform to sell my work in downtown Asheville that I didn’t have before.”
Knies said it was impossible to continue operations despite approval for a couple of emergency disaster relief business grants, which she said she declined once the decision was made to close in late December.
She said it would have been enough to pay rent for a couple of months at Grove Arcade but wouldn’t cover operational costs or payroll. The entrepreneur was opposed to taking out a business loan.
“We are all prepared for a storm, but none of us was prepared for that kind of devastation,” Knies said.
Leaving a home, losing a business
For 23 years, Knies and her husband, Charlie, lived in Black Mountain.
Following Helene, Melinda said her husband’s previous medical condition called for them to evacuate to a family member’s home in Tennessee in Helene’s aftermath to ensure he had adequate care. The couple has permanently relocated.
Knies said Mountain Made’s financial losses during the fourth quarter, which would usually be the business’s busiest season due to fall tourism, coupled with the predicted revenue decline in the first quarter and her husband’s medical challenges were too much to bear.
Amber Ammons Fish, senior property manager of Altamus, Grove Arcade property management company, said Mountain Made had a strong tourist base that relied on customers visiting the store. She said some other Grove Arcade tenants reported that they fared better due to online sales and a customer base outside of the Asheville area.
“A lot of businesses may have been in a place in their economic structure of evaluating – ‘Can we reopen? What’s that going to look like?’ Some decisions were made in that time of, ‘Do we stay downtown in Asheville or do we not?’”
The struggle to survive
Knies said the gallery had withstood many obstacles since it was introduced on behalf of Mountain BizWorks, a nonprofit that supports local, small businesses, as a unique initiative to promote and boost sales for regional artists in 2002.
In 2011, the partnership dissolved, and Knies purchased the business and continued operations.
Knies said Mountain Made hadn’t recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, which temporarily closed businesses and resulted in a tourism decline in 2020 and the following years.
She said Mountain Made’s revenue was down nine percent in 2023.
Fish said tenants must report their sales to the management company and the “sales percentages showed that there had been a return to successful business” from 2020-2024, before Helene.
Last fall, Grove Arcade closed for the Sept. 27 storm and reopened on Oct. 16.
Post-Helene, Knies said she could not pay her two part-time employees, but they and local artists volunteered in the early days to help her reopen the store in mid-October and November before the December closure.
Foot traffic increased in the evening and on the weekends as customers shopped for the holidays. However, Knies said it didn’t compare to previous seasons.
Knies said Mountain Made’s lease ends in November, and she’s negotiating with Altamus to be released from the agreement early.
Fish said leasing rates are based on the consumer price index and incrementally rise each year, depending on the business and factors like square footage and location of the building.
She said there had been no rent increases since Helene and relief supplement agreements with payment plans and adjusted rent schedules were established for businesses in need.
Fish said Grove Arcade has 42 retail and restaurant spaces, and as of Jan. 31, Altamus had received two notices to vacate from tenants post-Helene, including Mountain Made.
Fish said Well-Bred Bakery may return. Bebettes: A New Orleans Coffeehouse has reopened after a months-long closure.
She said the management company is working on pre-leasing and filling the spaces.
Chorizo, a Latin fusion restaurant from the owner of Modesto, is slated to open in early spring.
Fish said Altamus had shown leniency with businesses, permitting them to operate with limited hours and days until Feb. 1.
“We hope to see every business back open as to their lease and their times,” she said.
‘A pleasure to serve’
Knies expressed her love and appreciation for the artists who contributed to Mountain Made’s success.
“It’s been a pleasure to serve them,” she said.
Over the two decades, Probstein has had an established career with glass artworks in exhibited galleries, including at Biltmore Estate, but said Mountain Made was where he returned each year.
“Mountain Made was always my number one gallery, even when I sold nationally, for my entire career,” he said. “Melinda formed relationships with the artists. She took time to find out about their life. … find out if their mother was sick and stepped up to do what she could as a gallery owner to help out in those situations.”
Probstein said he planned to return to his wholesale market in Baltimore as Asheville galleries are hurting from Helene.
Knies said challenges persist with local businesses and more closures are expected, and the city will be different once surviving businesses return.
Knies said artists are challenged with sourcing and paying for materials and finding places to create, exhibit, and sell.
“All I can say at this particular time is wait ‘til spring and see who’s still floating,” Knies said. “This is a very difficult time for any business and many that might have their doors open right now may find themselves come spring that they can’t do it anymore.”
What’s next for Grove Arcade
Fish said Grove Arcade is implementing a strong marketing plan led by Bill Kaelin Marketing, and programming like the Winter Wonderland holiday event series is designed to attract more business to Grove Arcade and downtown.
On Feb. 8, the “Love, Marquee” Valentine’s Day-themed event will feature displaced Marquee art gallery and River Arts Districts artists. The market will run from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Altamus manages multiple properties in RAD.
She said that live music is performed by a local artist every Saturday to create liveliness and energy in the building.
The historic mall will host “Grove in Bloom,” a plant and flower market, in early spring, collaborating with the North Carolina Arboretum.
“We want them to have a place to come and eat, shop and work and feel like Asheville is alive again,” Fish said. “We’re here. Please come and shop at our building.”
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Tips, comments, questions? Email tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow @PrincessOfPage on Instagram/Bluesky.