Larry Griffin
lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Bryson City businesses are starting 2024 with an interest in expanding their services to locals as well as tourists. Some are also looking to expand options for recreation downtown.
Bryson City Brewing, formerly Nantahala Brewing Burger + Bar, wants to increase its visibility in the community heading into 2024 after what employee Andy Haynes said was a “touch and go” 2023.
The brewery and restaurant, bought by local businessman Mark Fortner since last spring, officially rebranded last June, reopening in the new location on 234 Deep Creek Road.
Haynes said they think 2024 will be a bigger year for them after 2023 was somewhat quiet.
“We didn’t do much ads,” he said. “We’re kind of ramping up. This year is going to be bigger – we’re trying to get more publicity. The whole place has been touch and go – they’ve been creating the brewery, redoing the kitchen, multiple aspects getting up and running at the same time.”
He said the brewery wants to bring more live music downtown.
“We want to build the music scene here. We want to have a live atmosphere for the town, for all ages. We did around 20 to 25 shows last year,” he said.
Haynes pointed to a trailer in the outside pavilion area of the bar that he said they opened as a stage for musicians to play on in the warmer months.
He said the brewery wanted to be a place for locals:
“We want to appeal to tourists, but we also want to be a good spot for the locals. More than anything, we want to make a good spot for the locals,” he said.
Board games to build community
On Friday afternoon, Jan. 12, as the rain drizzled on all day long, Coollaborate Game Café was full of homeschooled kids.
“We’re doing a homeschool day,” owner Brendan Bell said. “We invited the Bryson City and Sylva homeschool groups out.”
Brendan and his wife Andrea Bell said they opened the café at 291 Everett Street to try and provide a new place to go for fun events, which was sorely needed on Friday amid the chilly, wet weather.
“We were looking to have a spot for the kids and families to hang out, a place for families to bond,” Brendan said.
There are plans for adults, too, including what Andrea called “Stranger Games,” which will be scheduled times when people can come in alone and play games with others they’ve never yet met.
“People can come and play with people they don’t know,” she said. “It could be good for people who just started living here, who don’t have friends yet.”
One can spend $5 and get all-day access to play the games inside the café, which include popular kids’ games like “Connect Four” and “Monopoly,” among several lesser-known games that the Bells said they bought specifically for the café. Brendan said customers are allowed to leave and come back the same day – if they wanted to go out for lunch or for a hike, they’re allowed to come back through the end of the day, he said.
The Bells said they wanted to have all sorts of events in the future, catering to children as well as adults. They had a stand-up comedy night on Friday, Jan. 12, and the Bells said they also want to incorporate other events including art classes and nature-based events like mushroom identification.
“We’re open to a lot of different options,” Brendan said.
A good year
Uncle Bunky’s Christmas Cottage, which sells Christmas-themed items, had a “very good year” in 2023 as they expanded by 600 square feet to accommodate a new influx in business, said owner Brad Walker.
“It was so busy we couldn’t handle it properly,” Walker said. “Everybody loves Christmas.”
The store is closed for the month of January, but later in the year Walker said they’ll be shifting to sell more general home décor for the rest of the year until Christmastime again. He said they wanted to focus more on local business as well as their usual tourists.
“Tourism is our best customer, most of them are tourists,” he said. “With the expansion, we want to service the locals a little better.”