Check us Out
Get to Know
Our Members
New Member: Kelsey Wheeler of Plays in Mud Pottery
WABA is excited to welcome a new member business - Plays in Mud Handmade Pottery, located at 735 C Haywood Road. Owner Kelsey Wheeler is a long-time local potter, member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, and has sold her work all over the country from Juno, Alaska...
August Business After Hours
Thursday, August 5, 2021 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM EST 125 River Birch Grove Road Asheville, NC 28806 Come join us for the August Business After Hours at Hawthorne at Haywood! Feel free to bring a gift that will be raffled off as door prizes through the evening. Bring your...
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2021 AT 2 PM EDT – 3 PM ED
Energy Efficiency for Businesses and Nonprofits Class by Blue Horizons Project Online Class Price: Free Public · Anyone on or off Facebook Want to be more energy efficient to help save money and our planet at your...
Providing a Voice
Who We Are
The West Asheville Business Association (WABA) is a membership organization for businesses located in the portion of the City of Asheville west of the French Broad River.
WABA – Member Spotlight
New Member Spotlight - Carolina Hemp
When Brian Bullman opened Carolina Hemp in 2014, he was excited to be in West Asheville as he has fond memories of enjoying the neighborhood in his youth. The business is at the forefront of the industry in our region and now includes 13 franchise locations from Columbus, Ohio down to Jacksonville, Florida. Their success is a direct result of the “general store” selection of quality products with a focus on consumer education and building community.
Bullman says, “Carolina Hemp is as homegrown as it gets,” with an ongoing effort to partner with local and regional farmers, educators, manufacturers, and retailers. Supporting community is a central mission of their business. Their Hemp for Hunger project gathers donations for people in need of food, bedding and warm clothing, while Hemp for Harvest distributes vegetable starts for home gardeners. Carolina Hemp values creating good jobs in a team-work environment and employees enjoy profit-sharing which encourages both collaboration and accountability. WABA is excited to welcome Brian as a new board member and looks forward to working with the Carolina Hemp team.
Member Spotlight
ARCHETYPE SELECTED FOR
BREWERY DIVERSITY INTERNSHIP INITIATIVE
Archetype selected as one of five NC breweries to promote diversity and ease access for People of Color in the brewery industry.
ASHEVILLE, March 19th – Archetype Brewing is excited to announce it has been selected as one of five North Carolina breweries for an intern diversity program entitled the Many Faces Initiative. Brad Casanova, brewery owner, says diversity and inclusivity is at the heart of its business model, “Archetype’s brand is focused on accentuating and identifying the differences we all have, in who we are, where we come from and our individual tastes. Our goal has been to make beer that can speak to and be enjoyed by every person across all archetypes. Many Faces in itself resonates with this philosophy. We celebrate our diversity and style, not just to seem cool, but because it’s part of our philosophy. Archetype employs the only female head brewer in Asheville (maybe even WNC). While our skin tones may not break any stereotypes, how we present ourselves promotes an inclusive environment.”
In July of 2020, Town Brewing released a West Coast IPA called “Many Faces” to raise funds to support the NC Brewers Guild Diversity Scholarship Program that provides travel, lodging, and conference expenses for people of color and women attending the NC Craft Brewers Conference.
In summer of 2021, Town will expand the Many Faces Initiative by launching a paid ten-week brewery internship program designed to provide mentorship and offer an immersive training experience to people of color interested in pursuing careers within the craft brewing industry. Town Brewing will host one intern at their Charlotte brewery. The Many Faces Initiative also selected four additional North Carolina breweries who are interested in participating in the Many Faces Initiative Internship Program from a large pool of applicants. The chosen breweries will receive grants designed to subsidize the cost of the internship program.
While these grants make participation in the Many Faces Internship more feasible for small craft breweries, there will still be significant buy-in and investment from Archetype Brewing as well. In addition to committing time to meaningful beer and brewing training, each brewery will release a beer developed by their intern, and all net proceeds from the beer releases will be donated to the
Many Faces Initiative Fund to continue to grow the internship program in the years to come. Look for these “Many Faces” beer releases in late-summer/early-fall of 2021.
The intern at Archetype will rotate through different areas of brewery operations (brewing, sales, marketing, and taproom and event management). The intern will work on a capstone project for a deeper dive into a craft beer topic of their choosing during the internship and will also benefit from networking events and a guest speaker series.
The intern application period runs from March through April 9th. The Many Faces Internship Program will begin on May 24th at each participating brewery, lasting ten weeks. Applicants can apply at www.archetypebrewing.com/manyfaces
Take the Kids to West Asheville
West Asheville Photos
