New Belgium marks 10 years as River Arts District recovery continues

A decade after opening in Asheville’s River Arts District, New Belgium Brewing used its anniversary celebration to measure how much of the neighborhood has clawed back after Hurricane Helene. The Saturday event at the brewery became less a birthday party than a snapshot of a district still rebuilding, where every full patio and steady stream of visitors matters to nearby businesses.

Bridgett Bolding, New Belgium’s general manager of hospitality, said support from Asheville residents and regular visitors has helped the brewery and the shops and restaurants around it. Her comments pointed to a simple economic reality in the RAD: when foot traffic returns, the benefit spreads beyond one taproom. Businesses that share the same post-storm customer base have been depending on that rebound as they work through the long cleanup and recovery left by the hurricane.

Bolding also said tourism is coming back strongly, with people once again showing up in ways that make the district feel active instead of hollowed out. That matters in a neighborhood where visitor traffic is part of the local business model and where New Belgium has become one of the visible markers travelers use to judge whether Asheville’s arts-and-tourism corridor is recovering. For a district built on galleries, studios, breweries and events, the return of familiar crowds carries direct economic weight.

The timing added another layer to the celebration. The anniversary landed on National Homebrew Day, tying New Belgium’s milestone to Asheville’s broader identity as a craft-beer city and an event-driven destination. Ten years after the brewery planted itself in the RAD, its presence now reflects more than beer sales. It reflects jobs tied to hospitality, the pull of destination visitors, and the pressure on a neighborhood that is still healing while trying to reassert itself as one of Asheville’s key economic engines.

Bolding said the recovery remains ongoing, but the River Arts District is beginning to breathe life back into itself. That makes New Belgium’s 10-year mark more than a corporate milestone. It is a reminder that the district’s next chapter will be shaped by how quickly visitors return, how steadily local loyalty holds, and how much the neighborhood can rebuild without losing the identity that made it a draw in the first place.