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Restaurants looking to open (and reopen)

From new restaurants planting roots in Burke County for the first time to favorite restaurants reopening after Hurricane Helene, 2025 could shape up to be a year of good eats for Burke County.

Chipotle said it plans to open a location on Burkemont Avenue in Â鶹´«Ã½ in the summer. The building is a former KFC.

Olive Garden has submitted plans to the city for a location on South Sterling Street at the former Fatz Cafe location. The business plans to demolish the current building.

Village Inn Pizza has also submitted plans to build a restaurant on Bush Drive next to Cracker Barrell.

The Madness, a sushi and burger restaurant with locations in North Asheville and Candler, has plans to open a location in downtown Â鶹´«Ã½ in the former Root and Vine location.

Town Tavern and Silver Creek Restaurant were both flooded by Hurricane Helene. Both restaurants have begun work to reopen after Helene halted business in September.

Park recovery

in Â鶹´«Ã½

From the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area and South Mountains State Park to the city of Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s parks, few were left untouched by Hurricane Helene in September.

While some of the trails in the Linville Gorge have reopened, many remain closed with extensive damage from downed trees to washed out trails, the U.S. Forest Service said in November. Lake James State Park has mostly reopened, but the Paddy’s Creek Swim Beach will need repairs. South Mountains State Park is closed indefinitely, but there may be an opportunity in the future for volunteers to help with cleanup efforts there.

In Morganton, the Catawba River Greenway, Catawba Meadows Park and the Catawba River Soccer Complex suffered the most damage from the hurricane. The city does not have an estimated reopening date for any of the facilities. Engineers gave the city an estimate of $1.5 million to repair a 200- to 250-foot stretch of the greenway where the riverbanks and walkway were eroded by flooding.

Bethel Park, which had been closed for a stream restoration and park renovation project, did sustain some damage from Helene, but city officials said the damage is not expected to delay the park’s reopening. Bethel Park is set to reopen in October.

Valdese

swimming pool

The Valdese Town Council had been waffling on what to do about a covering for the swimming pool that will allow for winter swimming. The longtime pool bubble was taken down and determined to no longer be usable.

In August, the town made plans to build a permanent aluminum pool cover with removable sides. At the town council’s December meeting, the council accepted a bid from Houck Contracting LLC for $1,793,930 and started a fundraising campaign to raise $300,000 to build the cover.

New faces on boards

A slew of new faces joined Burke County politics after the November election.

On the Burke County School Board, Brad Camp, Sonya Rockett, Reid Beck and Jamey Wycoff all were sworn-in during the board’s December meeting. School board incumbents Wendy Craven and Seth Hunt lost in the March primary. When Beck and Wycoff won in the primary, both said voters were seeking change to the board.

The new members joined Aaron Johnson, Leslie Ritchie Taylor and Tiana Beachler on the board. Beachler was named chair and Wycoff vice-chair at the December meeting.

For the Burke County Board of Commissioners, Republican newcomers Brian Barrier and Mike Stroud were sworn-in, along with incumbent Jeff Brittain. Board incumbents Scott Mulwee and Johnnie Carswell lost their bids for reelection in the March primary.

The new board named Destin Hall, an attorney from Lenoir who also serves as an NC state representative for Caldwell and part of Watauga counties, as county attorney. County meetings, which have been held on Tuesdays for years, now will be held on Mondays.