Since Hurricane Helene (downgraded to a tropical storm after slowing down over land) ripped through Western North Carolina, Spruce Pine’s Ingles grocery store sits vacant.
With no confirmed reopen date, and very little reporting from its corporate office about what progress has been made, many residents are feeling frustrated, angry, as well as disappointed with the store’s lack of transparency.
“Not having an Ingles here, honestly, is really difficult,” said Morgan Hoover, a Spruce Pine resident.
And the most frustrating thing is that “We’re not getting much information,” she said. “I have no idea what’s going on. I’ve heard everything from the building’s going to be torn down or it’s going to be opening in three months ... some transparency would be very nice.”
Information from Ingles’ corporate office about the future of the town’s grocery store has been sparse.
Despite calls to the corporate office, it wasn’t until March 17, that Ingles’ Pat Jackson, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) disclosed in an email to Richard Canipe, interim town manager at the time, what the company’s plans were moving forward.
“We are currently working on obtaining the plans to prepare bids to
start the permit process. No official start date can be provided at this time. We do plan to reopen the store,” Jackson said.
On April 15, almost a month later, Dillion Phillips, Mitchell County’s building inspector, said in an email that “A contractor submitted plans for review. The plans were reviewed and approved for construction. To our knowledge, Ingles has not taken bids for the project. The permits have not been issued.”
Newland resident Angela Thorpe, who works in Spruce Pine, said that she believes Ingles is doing the best it can and believes some of the delays are a result of the building codes Ingles has to follow.
“I do believe the red tape should not be as difficult as it is,” Thorpe said.
Thorpe, who has to shop for groceries at Walmart now, is also disappointed that Ingles has not been more forthcoming with information.
The only place Thorpe can find information about Ingles is on Facebook, but she feels it isn’t information she can trust.
“As a matter of fact, I read yesterday that they’re thinking (their opening) may be in September now ... but it won’t be with the deli and the bakery,” Thorpe said. “We need them, and you know it’s frustrating when you’ve got such a big community that you only have one place to go.”
Some residents on social media have suggested that the county look into bringing in another grocery store, but that is not an option for now.
The director of the Economic Development Commission has resigned. And according to Daniel Stines, Spruce Pine’s new town manager, it is the economic development’s team that would handle recruiting retail establishments.
While his office handles zoning and setting up parameters for businesses within the county, “They (the economic development commission) would be more at the front of the recruitment side,” Stines said.
Despite the anger and frustration around the lack of information that Ingles provides, many residents will be relieved when and if the store opens.
“I think that Ingles, particularly in our little town, is a real hub of the community,” said Beth Byerly, who lives in downtown Spruce Pine.
Byerly particularly liked the old location on Greenwood Road.
“It really makes our little downtown a lot more livable to have that grocery store right downtown, so convenient. So I really hope they open up,” she said. “I was afraid that they wouldn’t ... that they would just abandon the location and not rebuild. So, I just hope they come back.”