As Chimney Rock shops reopen, shopkeepers recount what it took to get there
From left to right: Lourdes Hernandez, Megan Ryder and Kasha Jones at Bubba O’Leary’s General Store.
Lily Levin photo
As you enter Chimney Rock, you will see bulldozers and construction workers and other visceral reminders of Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic impact. But as you absorb the village’s incredible landscape and people, you’ll notice shops newly reconstructed and others half-filled with merchandise, a proud proclamation of their survival.
You’ll also pass stores like Willow Creek or The Finderie (formerly Featherheads) or Bubba O’Leary’s General Store — well stocked and brightly lit, owners welcoming you in from behind the counter. All three of these shops required nearly a year to reopen, a timeline that offered illness and loss and cautious hope and the sincere promise of finding something like normalcy once again.
Behind the counter at The Finderie, Christina Kulak recalled walking into her old shop after the storm.
“We had water to about your shoulder and mud to our knees. Imagine a washing machine, but of mud, and just squished everything around.”
Manager Kasha Jones said Bubba O’Leary’s was also filled with mud. At both shops, soldiers from the the 101st Airborne Division were what Kulak called “angels” — they cleared every last bit of mud out.
For Willow Creek co-owner Donald Hastings, the impact was more personal.
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“Business-wise, when it hit, I lost my livelihood,” he said. “And then not more than a month after that, I found out I had kidney cancer. I had to have my kidney removed.”
Regarding the store’s loss of inventory, Hastings faulted his flood insurance provider most of all.
“I have been a member of Farm Bureau since basically 1978,” he said. “And I have been doing business with them, concerning [Willow Creek], since 2000.”
And yet the shop wasn’t covered.
“They were waiting for us when we walked in with a denial letter. All they did was write in our information,” said Frank Plichta, who co-owns Willow Creek with Hastings.
Temporary relocation
In addition to the 101st Airborne, Kulak cited the help from the Amish and Spokes of Hope — both still aiding recovery efforts in Chimney Rock — as a significant driver in getting back on her feet. She explained that the two groups helped with supplies, electricity, and even built some of the showcases for The Finderie’s jewelry collection.
But at O’Leary’s, after the mud was cleared, the job was to vacuum. Everything had to be vacuumed, Jones noted, over the span of two to three months.
“I did 100 pair of socks. It took me, like, almost half the day to do. At the same time, [we were] having fun while doing it,” said store employee Megan Ryder, adding that the feeling of mutual support made it all the more bearable.
While their sites were undergoing maintenance, Bubba O’Leary’s and The Finderie both temporarily moved to Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort, a marketplace for businesses from Western North Carolina to set up shop after displacement from the hurricane. Kulak said the Finderie’s sister enterprise, Rock Creations, continues to sell merchandise at Tryon — along with many other vendors not yet able to return to their original stores.
Willow Creek, on the other hand, temporarily relocated to Forest City, but business didn’t go as well as they’d hoped.
“That’s nothing against Forest City,” co-owner Donald Hastings said. “People are nice and stuff there. A lot of people just didn’t know we were there.”
Hastings said neither he nor Plichta received FEMA relief money for themselves, though they were able to get two grants for the business. Either way, it hasn’t been nearly enough; the co-owners estimated that 60% to 70% of Willow Creek has been financed by personal savings.
Hastings was grateful for his ability to get on Medicaid after his cancer diagnosis, which has helped him cover the cost of kidney removal.
“I also was able to get a little bit of help from food stamps,” he said.
But now, with the federal budget cuts, after the 2026 midterm elections, the Willow Creek shopkeeper will lose both of those essential resources.
Looking back, moving forward
While Christina Kulak, who works at The Finderie, mourned all the village had lost, she expressed excitement for what’s to come.
“We don’t have half our town that people remember…and you can’t get back in our river,” Kulak said.
Kulak encouraged more tourism despite these changes.
“I’m grateful for all the people that are coming, because there is really great things — new things to do here,” said, adding that raisetherock.com features a list of proposals for the village. “It’s going to be a really awesome place.”
At Bubba O’Leary’s, employee Lourdes Hernandez, who doesn’t live right in town, explained she’s most reminded of Helene’s ongoing impact on her way to work. “Driving here … I see all the destruction,” she said.
Nonetheless, in the four weeks following the O’Leary’s reopening, said Ryder, things have been “more normal than not.” She added, “When you look out the window, you’re like, ‘Oh, wow, this kind of feels like the store again!’”
Bringing out the best
All three general store employees agreed that the storm has brought the community of Chimney Rock closer together — especially among those who work at its shops.
Kulak echoed the community sentiment in the village.
“Everyone’s just here for the best intentions …There’s a lot of really good people in this world, and I hope that that story gets out into the world more than anything,” Kulak said.
Back at Willow Creek, shopkeeper Frank Plichta snuck a mini snickerdoodle creme pie from the store’s selection and passed it to The Smoky Mountain News reporter over the counter.
“It’s Little Miss Debbie’s,” he said, grinning sheepishly, “so you know it’s the best.”
