Hendersonville Shop Owners

Our group arrived in Hendersonville on a perfect fall morning. We parked the car and strolled through the center of downtown. Our timing was such that as we were arriving in Hendersonville so were the bikers who had left from Brevard that morning on the Mountains to Coast trail. Stores were opening their doors to the bustle the bikers were causing and we were free to stop in. Downtown Hendersonville is home to a variety of stores, restaurants, bakeries, cafes and bars.

As we explored, we talked to the storeowners about the area and our project. There seemed to be a general consensus about the town and its growing population. Hendersonville is now the small town that Asheville used to be but as Asheville grew, so did Hendersonville. The population of Hendersonville had grown, according to the shop owners, because of the influx of vacationers from Florida and the surrounding areas.

Many of the people we talked do had only been in Hendersonville a few years, emphasizing the fact that the community is young and growing. The small businesses are coming into the area in order to capitalize on the growth that they have seen in recent years.

While Hendersonville did have foreclosed signs in some store windows, the downtown area looked vibrant that day. Many owners attributed the success of Hendersonville to Asheville tourists who wanted to explore the more rural areas. Many storefronts have been redone in recent years to attract more people, but there is still that old, rural, small town feel as you walk down the street.

Hendersonville, like Highlands, is filled with young people who have relocated for business opportunities, and the town is growing despite the loss the Highway 64 in the middle of town.

----Olivia James