One Year After Hurricane Helene: Resilience, Renewal & Community Roots 🌱

Tynesha Carden • September 27, 2025

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One Year After Hurricane Helene: Resilience, Renewal & Community Roots 🌱

It’s been a full year since Hurricane Helene tore through Western North Carolina, leaving devastation in its path and forcing our Merrimon Avenue location to close for 47 days. But in true Franny’s Farmacy fashion, we turned hardship into healing and came back stronger than ever . Today, we celebrate how far we’ve come with heartfelt gratitude for our loyal customers, community, and team who helped us rebuild, regroup, and reimagine what’s possible.


Rising Strong: Merrimon Avenue, Reimagined

Our flagship Merrimon Avenue store didn’t just reopen; it evolved. With the support of local artists, muralists, contractors, and customers, we transformed our space into something beautiful and bold:

  • 🎨 Locally painted murals that celebrate creativity and community

  • ✨ A whimsical new tea lounge for calm moments, conscious conversations, and curated events

  • 🎭 In-store happenings like tea parties, sound baths, movie nights, joint rolling competitions, and more

The new Merrimon is more than a store; it’s a sanctuary for healing, connection, and conscious living.


Asheville’s First Outdoor Consumption Lounge

In West Asheville, we opened our newest location on Haywood Road , complete with Asheville’s ONLY outdoor cannabis consumption lounge . This location has quickly become a hotspot for:

  • Sip & sample experiences

  • Community events

  • Wellness pop-ups

  • Relaxation and outdoor vibes

This space is a celebration of everything Franny’s stands for: education, connection, and Appalachian-curated wellness made accessible for all.


WNC STRONG: A Community That Carried Us

We’ll never forget the acts of love and loyalty we witnessed during those difficult days:

  • Customers driving from Hendersonville to keep us going

  • Friends and neighbors checking in, donating time, sending encouragement

  • Online orders poured in to say: “We’re with you.”

You reminded us that Franny’s isn’t just a brand, it’s a movement . And that movement is powered by people like you .


What’s Brewing Next?

Our journey doesn’t stop here. The same community spirit that helped us survive Hurricane Helene is now fueling our future:

  • Monthly events at Merrimon and Haywood

  • Expanding our botanical and beverage lines

  • Activating new spaces for learning, healing, and togetherness

We’re focused on wellness from the ground up, rooted in the mountains, made with love, and powered by resilient humans .


Thank You for Sticking With Us đź’š

If there’s one thing this past year has shown us, it’s that we are WNC STRONG . Your support carried us through our toughest season and into a bright new chapter filled with laughter, light, and leafy greens.

“Come hell or high water, we all stuck together.”
And we’ll never stop growing—together.


🛍️ Visit us at Merrimon or Haywood , join an event, or keep supporting your favorite small business online at
👉 frannysfarmacy.com
Go Local Feature

Stay Green & Glowing,
The Franny’s Farmacy Team

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