High Five Coffee in Woodfin suffers second blow after fire

High Five Coffee’s Woodfin shop was declared a total loss after a fire broke out around 1 a.m. on May 7 behind The Mill at Riverside, wiping out a riverside gathering place that had only recently recovered from Hurricane Helene. Firefighters got there quickly, and no injuries were reported, but the building could not be saved.

Woodfin police said surveillance video helped identify a suspect, and Nicholas Hunter Grigsby of Valley Park Drive was arrested after a brief foot chase. He was charged with felony burning of a commercial building and violating a domestic violence protective order, and he was being held in the Buncombe County Jail on a $100,000 bond. Police said more charges were expected.

The loss carried extra weight because the shop had already spent nearly 10 months rebuilding after Helene. High Five reopened its Riverside location on June 28, 2025, after floodwater had filled the building to about four feet and the French Broad River reached a historic 24.67 feet. Lowe’s said founder Jay Weatherly received a $20,000 Western North Carolina Small Business Recovery Fund grant to help cover payroll, rent and tools during that recovery.

Weatherly said he planned to rebuild the burned shop, keeping alive a business that had become part of the daily rhythm in Woodfin and along the French Broad River corridor. A GoFundMe campaign titled Help High Five Coffee Rebuild After Fire was created to support the effort and described the location as more than a coffee shop, with a focus on helping employees and the business get back on its feet. High Five’s website also lists its downtown Asheville, Five Points and Woodfin locations, a reminder that the company’s local network extends beyond the burned storefront.

Town officials said Woodfin was “saddened by the loss of this Woodfin treasure” and pledged support for the owners and operators. For neighboring businesses at The Mill at Riverside and for regulars who built routines around the shop, the fire cut short a comeback that had only just begun, turning one of Woodfin’s best-known small businesses into the latest test of how fragile recovery can be after one disaster follows another.