Hello Buncombe County!
Tomorrow is Veterans Day, so instead of our usual single-business interview, today is a roundup of six local places with a veteran connection. We built the list from each business's own website and public listings. Four are veteran-owned businesses, and two are nonprofits that serve veterans. Each one is labeled below.
Jung Kwon Martial Arts Academy, Asheville
Veteran-owned, Navy. Porter Hughes owns and teaches at Jung Kwon, a martial arts school inside the Asheville Anytime Fitness on Patton Avenue.
The school teaches Chung Do Kwan, and says it is the only provider of that old-school style of self-defense training in North Carolina. Its website says kids 6 and up train alongside adults and seniors, and that parents and kids train side by side, so a family can sign up together.
Where: 805 Patton Ave., inside Asheville Anytime Fitness
Good for: Kids, adults and seniors
Off the Wagon Dueling Piano Bar, Downtown Asheville
Veteran-owned. Two pianos, two players and a crowd that picks the songs. When Off the Wagon opened on North Market Street, an Asheville Chamber announcement said the owners were proud to be veteran owned, and named co-owner Benjamin Reese, then a major in the Air National Guard.
It is an all-request show with no set list, so whatever you call out might get played. The performers say they know thousands of popular songs from the last 60-plus years, and the night runs on sing-alongs, with plenty of jokes about the songs, the players and the crowd. If you have never seen a dueling piano show, the bar's own description is a rock-and-roll, total party atmosphere.
Where: 22 N. Market St., Asheville
Price: $10 weekend cover | $5 most other days | 21+
Asheville Cryotherapy & Recovery, Woodfin
Veteran-owned. Jason and Maria Moore run this recovery studio in Woodfin.
If you have not tried it, whole body cryotherapy is a short stay in a chamber of extremely cold air. It triggers your body's fight or flight response to reduce inflammation and speed muscle recovery.
The studio offers four services under one roof: whole body cryotherapy, compression therapy, red light therapy and an infrared sauna. A single session is $25, and there are session packs and monthly memberships if you want to go regularly. The membership page also has a separate tab for students, veterans and first responders.
Where: Woodfin
Price: $25 for a single session
Paws & Effect, Black Mountain
A nonprofit that serves veterans. Paws & Effect trains and places service dogs, with a program for veterans that began in 2009. Founders Eric and Nicole Shumate started it in Iowa in 2006, and it now has a presence in Western North Carolina, where it has also been collecting and directing Hurricane Helene aid for large-animal owners from its base in Black Mountain.
The group says its goal is to place service dogs at little to no cost to the veterans and children who receive them, and it relies on fundraising, special events and grant writing to make that possible.
Where: Black Mountain
Good for: Supporting service dogs for veterans
Veterans Healing Farm, Mills River
A nonprofit that serves veterans. Just outside Buncombe, in Henderson County. Veterans Healing Farm says it works to improve the mental, emotional and physical well-being of veterans and their families in Western North Carolina through nature, connection and purpose. The farm grows organic produce, keeps bees, tends a medicinal herb garden and runs workshops, and its website says everything it grows is given back to the veteran community and other local groups.
The farm takes volunteers, sponsors and donations, and the sign-ups are on its website.
Where: Mills River
Good for: Volunteering, sponsoring or donating
Good Times Mead, Marion
Veteran-owned. Just outside Buncombe, in McDowell County. Good Times Mead makes meads from honey, with traditional, elderberry, oak and honey agave bottlings on its website, and it lists medals from the 2026 Southeast Regional Winemaker Challenge. A portion of proceeds from everything it sells goes to veteran support groups, with veteran suicide prevention as the stated focus. The groups it names include the Green Beret Foundation, Stop Soldier Suicide and the Veterans Healing Farm in Mills River.
You can order bottles online through the mead shop on its site.
Where: Marion, with online ordering
Good for: A gift that gives back
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Happy Veterans Celebration, Buncombe County
To every veteran, and to the families who serve right alongside them, thank you. We hope this week brings good company and a celebration worthy of your service.
See you Thursday for events around the county, plus another One to Know.
Know a veteran-owned business we missed? Hit reply with the name and the town and we will take a look for a future issue.
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Have an event you want to feature or want to advertise your business to our readers in Buncombe County? Drop us a line here β [email protected]
