Marquee Asheville team
After nearly a year of closure following the devastation of Hurricane Helene, Marquee in Asheville’s River Arts District has made great progress towards a long-anticipated reopening. The design marketplace, a beloved centerpiece of the local arts economy, is aiming to reopen before Labor Day weekend.
The road to recovery has been long and complicated. Delays in the rebuild were compounded by financial uncertainty, but recent support from international relief organization Operation Blessing helped turn the tide. “Operation Blessing stepped up and donated the materials we needed to build all of our interior walls—$150,000 worth of materials that brought us a sigh of relief,” says Nicholas.
As construction nears completion, Nicholas is preparing for a reimagined Marquee that will feel both familiar and entirely new. The space will be complete with more than 300 vendors by the time of reopening.
Roughly 75 percent of vendors are returning, many of them expanding their footprint in the newly configured layout. “They had first choice of keeping their space or moving around or going big,” says Nicholas. “Many of them scaled up and wanted larger spaces.”
The expanded vendor list includes a variety of fresh voices and visions as well. “The new people are amazing,” Nicholas says. “It’s going to look and feel amazing. Everything in there is fresh, brand new. I had the largest space in there and lost everything, but I’ve really been enjoying hunting and finding new items. Of course I hate the loss, but I was fortunate to have the resources to build back up again.”
Nicholas’s personal stall, a favorite for its unique and rare aesthetic, will also return. “I am always looking for one-of-a-kind type of things, something somebody had an idea for and made out of their own scraps—a sculpture or a piece of furniture that looks amazing and it’s kind of a priceless type of thing.”
Food and beverage will also make a return, though details are still being finalized. “We’re definitely going to have a bar again,” says Nicholas
While the date is not yet locked in, Nicholas and his team are energized by the transformation taking shape. “It’s going to be fantastic,” says Nicholas. “I feel like it’s the best I’ve ever had in my operations before—just quality and wow factor. It’s going to be so, so cool.”
Follow the transformation at @marqueeasheville and stay tuned for more reopening details.
