The Dark and Dismal Days

Biltmore Village is a collection of historic buildings that housed the workers who constructed George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate. Those Tudor-style buildings now house a hodge-podge of artsy fartsy businesses: boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, and a high-end hotel. On the outskirts of Biltmore there were five businesses on the west side of the main thoroughfare through the village: MacDonalds, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Asaka Japanese restaurant, Long John Silver, and a Shell gasoline station. These were spread out on both sides of the Swannanoa River.

Hurricane Helene damaged all five businesses in late September of 2024. The MacDonalds was leveled and rebuilt, and the Shell station was damaged but not so badly that it had to be demolished. Both are now back in business. The Long John Silver fish joint, which shares a driveway with the Shell station, suffered a similar fate as the Shell station: damaged but repairable. The folks who owned that business decided to close it down. As for Moe’s and Asaka, their buildings were gutted by the flood waters. Moe’s has relocated to higher ground. I have heard no news about Asaka. It is probably gone for good.

I never darkened the doors of three of those restaurants. I was, though, a frequent visitor to the MacDonalds and the Shell station. My interest in the Shell station was simple: it housed the Dunkin’ Donuts nearest to my house.

When the Shell station reopened, it was without the Dunkin’ franchise. They substituted instead something called the Citi Grill. I’ve never eaten there. Nothing personal: I just miss the Dunkin’.

For a bit more than a year and a half Kathy and I have been frequenting the Dunkin’ franchise on Hendersonville Road. This, for me, is a real inconvenience. The Shell station Dunkin’ was a mere one mile (as the crow flies) from my house. The Dunkin’ on Hendersonville Road is a good six miles away, again, as the crow flies. Worse, it is past my school, so I cannot stop by on my way to work to pick up sustenance.

But then came good news. The Long John Silver building was to be repurposed as a Dunkin’! Oh, happy day! And so began The Wait for the remodeling to be completed and the store to open.

Thursday’s email from Newsbreak informed me that the Dunkin’ would open on the next day, Friday the 17th. Kathy and I hit the place at 6:30 AM, only to find it closed. Apparently, there was one inspection that did not get completed in time. I saw that it was open on my way home from school, so I made a note to stop by Saturday morning and indulge my appetite for Bavarian Kreme donuts. And so, this morning, I made my inaugural visit to this brand-new Dunkin’.

It is also, most likely, my last visit. They do not make Bavarian Kreme donuts. In fact, they told me, they do not make any donuts that are covered in powdered sugar.

Let that thought ricochet around in your brain for a minute or two: no donuts covered in powdered sugar.

It’s un-American, I tell you!