Gemelli earns Griffin Award for careful Biltmore Village rebuild

Gemelli’s rehabilitation in Biltmore Village has become more than a restaurant comeback. The Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County gave the business a Griffin Award for the careful rebuild of its new space after Tropical Storm Helene, turning one reopening into a signal that a battered commercial district is still working its way back.

The honor came at the 46th annual Griffin Awards on May 21 at 5:30 p.m. at Ella Asheville in the Broadway Arts Building. PSABC says the awards recognize projects and people that further historic preservation in Asheville and Buncombe County, with an emphasis on high-quality, thoughtful work that values historic character and materials and makes a significant community impact.

Gemelli opened April 17 at 28 Hendersonville Road in a building constructed in 1923 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The restaurant sits a block from the Biltmore Estate main entrance, in a structure that previously housed Biltmore Hardware, Andaaz and Rezzaz. Chef Anthony Cerrato said the project was about bringing life back to an iconic building in an area that was physically devastated, and his son, Executive Chef Gabe Cerrato, leads the restaurant.

That context gives the award its weight. Biltmore Village was one of the most visibly damaged commercial areas after Helene, when the Swannanoa River crested at 27.33 feet in late September 2024 and one account said the district was submerged in as much as 20 feet of water in places. In that setting, a polished reopening does more than fill tables. It helps reassure customers, neighboring tenants and potential investors that the district can once again support steady foot traffic, dining and retail activity.

PSABC’s own recovery work shows how much remains at stake. The society closed its Helene Recovery Grant Program in April after funding more than 50 applicants and awarding more than $275,000 to owners of storm-damaged historic buildings. Gemelli’s award sits inside that larger effort: private reconstruction, preservation funding and the slow return of business in one of Buncombe County’s most recognizable neighborhoods.

For Asheville, the real story is not simply that Gemelli opened or that it won a preservation prize. It is that a 1923 landmark in Biltmore Village, after flood damage and months of disruption, is once again part of the district’s commercial life, and that preservation is still helping shape how recovery looks on the ground.