Boomer's owner says tourism decline led to closing bourbon, cigar bar

Tiana Kennell, Asheville Citizen Times

Wed, January 14, 2026 at 10:05 AM UTC

6 min read

ASHEVILLE - It was only a matter of time before Boomer's Bourbon and Cigar Bar would close, without the customer sales to keep it afloat after Tropical Storm Helene, according to co-owner Missy Baker.

From her Coxe Avenue office, she had noticed that foot traffic was significantly reduced from what it had been before the devastating fall 2024 event, with near-empty streets in the South Slope district downtown.

"It started after the storm. We lost our business partner because we weren't doing enough business, because there weren't enough tourists here. We were hanging on the whole time after the storm," Baker said.

Baker said that it wasn't business mismanagement that led to Boomer's closing, as there had been steady bookings for events like weddings and birthdays before Helene. The menu was revised to include nonalcoholic beverages, like CBD drinks, to account for recent changes in drink trends that show consumers drinking less alcohol or abstaining.

Boomer's Bourbon and Cigars owners Derrick DeSha, left, and Missy Baker, right, stand in front of the bar along Coxe Avenue in Asheville on Jan. 12, 2025.

Baker attributed Boomer's closure to several factors, stating that Helene's aftermath was the final blow. She said that the city's initial message, encouraging tourists to stay out of Asheville after the storm, ultimately harmed businesses, as people were slower to return to places that were physically sound and open for business.

Baker also said the city needed to do more to routinely clean up litter and reduce loitering, discouraging people, especially residents, from visiting downtown.

"We've got to get our locals back. Our locals and our tourists, but if we had the locals when the tourism went down, we would still be open, and so would a lot of other places that closed downtown," Baker said.

Boomer's Bourbon and Cigar Bar permanently closes

In March 2020, Baker and her two partners opened Boomer's, only to close it immediately for nearly two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. It's been a rough road ever since, with Helene in fall 2024 being the latest culprit, adding to the business's hardships.

Boomer's closed for Helene during late September, reopening in December 2024.

"I hung on for a year, we kept everyone employed, everyone got paid, but I had to stop robbing Peter to pay Paul," Baker said.

The interior of Boomer's Bourbon and Cigars along Coxe Avenue in Asheville on Jan. 12, 2025.

Baker said at one point they couldn't afford to stock cigars, limiting the establishment to a bourbon bar only.

On October 15, 2025, Boomer's was intended to be temporarily closed as the partners sought someone to take over the bourbon and cigar bar or open a new concept in its place. Baker said there were about eight potential buyers, but none panned out for reasons ranging from the two-story space being too big to a desire to open a new business outside of Asheville.

Boomer's employed three part-time bartenders, with the business partners pitching in on shifts. She said two bartenders found employment elsewhere outside of the service industry. The third bartender has opened a food truck.

In January, the search was called off, the permanent closure status was announced on social media, and equipment and furniture sales commenced with other local businesses acquiring items.

Baker said that some things went to the new Marion Cigar Shop and Lounge in Marion, nearly 40 minutes east of Asheville. Other items were sold to places closer to home, like The Orange Peel.

South Slope businesses seek more promotion, visitor boosts

Boomer's closing coincides with that of Terra Nova Beer Company, which closed its South Slope brewery and taproom, as well as its Swannanoa taproom, in December, citing a drastic sales decline after Helene.

Meanwhile, new businesses have opened since the fall 2024 storm, including Nightshade, La Pizza Party and Xico Mexican restaurant.

"While downtown's got tourists, they're staying in the north side where they're shopping and there are things to do there. There's nothing in the South Slope ― nothing but drinking and restaurants," Baker said.

In 2020, Cheryl Antoncic Suess, owner of Bear's Smokehouse BBQ, introduced the barbecue restaurant on Coxe Avenue, a block away from Boomer's.

A parking lot sits next to Boomer's Bourbon and Cigars along Coxe Avenue in Asheville on Jan. 12, 2025.

Suess agreed that the north side of downtown has fared better than its South Slope district in its post-Helene recovery.

Suess said the restaurant and bar's summer sales post-Helene were stronger than expected but still not reaching the revenue she hoped for. She said the lack of hotels and anchor entertainment venues, such as Harrah's Convention Center, results in South Slope businesses lagging behind.

"When we talk about downtown, I think sometimes South Slope is left out of that conversation," Suess said. "When we bring large events like Billy Strings, those are great ― the economic impact and benefit and positives that come downtown, but it doesn't necessarily translate the same way to the South Slope."

She said that sometimes the major economic-boosting events can have adverse effects, as they draw people away from the South Slope.

Baker said that more retail stores would give people more reasons to visit and take a stroll through the South Slope.

Suess said that things like additional parking, wayfinding signage directing people from the north side to the South Slope that show there's more to explore past the city's transit center, and trolleys designated to run between the two districts would be beneficial.

Baker and Suess said that events like the Fourth of July fireworks being hosted in South Slope have helped, but that it's not enough.

A multimillion-dollar redesign was approved for a roughly half-mile stretch of Coxe Avenue to enhance safety, aesthetics and stormwater infrastructure along the corridor. It would include a continuous sidewalk, dedicated bike lane, high-visibility crosswalks, new street trees and a 13,000-square-foot raised plaza between Buxton and Banks avenues. The construction is anticipated to begin this year.

Boomer's Bourbon and Cigars along Coxe Avenue in Asheville on Jan. 12, 2025.

The city also proposed a temporary open-air 80-foot-by-180-foot public roller rink with bleachers, seating and lighting on Asheland Avenue after Carrier Park's roller-hockey rink was significantly damaged by Tropical Storm Helene.

Last year, an event-based social district was proposed to help activate the neighborhood, but the City Council later withdrew.

The entrepreneurs said they have been active participants in the Businesses of South Slope (BOSS) group, a collective of South Slope stakeholders, to bring more attention to the neighborhood, using tactics such as coordinated events, branding, and launching a joint social media handle where the public can learn more about the area's businesses and things to do.

"We've pivoted and are taking this approach to what we can do ourselves to attract more business and make the South Slope a destination and place people want to come, focusing on locals," Suess said.

Baker said she is open to starting a new business, but it would be a smaller establishment, though not downtown.

"They've got to take a stand to do something to get locals back and tourism up," Baker said.

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Tips, comments, questions? Email tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow @PrincessOfPage on Instagram. Sign up for AVL Bites and Brews, our weekly food and drink newsletter here.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Boomer's Bourbon and Cigar Bar in South Slope closes

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