Supermarket chain is devastated by the flood, because its new corporate campus was built in a flood hazard zone

All of Ingles Markets’ food inventory and most of its truck fleet were wiped out by the Hurricane Helene Flood. This catastrophe could cause food shortages in entire Southern Highlands region.

by Richard L. Thornton, Architect & City Planner

Employees will probably not receive paychecks today and the corporation is unable to pay vendors, because its computer center was severely damaged by the flood.

Most of its stores in western North Carolina and Tennessee are closed indefinitely. Management does not know how long those in Georgia can continue operation without being resupplied with food.

Ingles drove out most of its competition in the Southern Highlands (Winn Dixie, Piggly Wiggly & Food Lion) during the past 20 years. It is now the only supermarket chain still operating in most counties of western North Carolina, northern Georgia and Upstate South Carolina.

Most of the large commercial buildings constructed outside of Asheville in Buncombe County during the past 30 years, such as Ingles Markets, were allowed and encouraged to locate on the level landscape of the Swannanoa River Flood Plain by county officials. Almost all of these buildings suffered catastrophic damage on September 27, 2024. We are now learning that many building owners and almost all tenants were not aware that they were in a flood hazard zone and so did not obtain flood insurance! The same situation applies to stores and restaurants in Biltmore Village, which is in the City of Asheville.

The Swannanoa River near the Ingles Corporate Headquarters – Spring 2007. Swannanoa is the Anglicization of the Muscogee Creek words “Suwani Owa,” which mean “Shawnee River.” The Asheville Area was always occupied by the Shawnee. Immediately to the south, was the homeland of Muskogee-speaking Creeks. Despite what tourist literature tell visitors, the Cherokee NEVER lived in that part of North Carolina.

Not a total outsider

Bob Ingle was the founder of Ingles Markets, Inc. and a member of the Asheville Downtown Revitalization Commission . . . of which, I was Executive Director. At the time, I knew him, he was expanding the chain from four stores in the Asheville Area to towns and cities nearby in western North Carolina. He was always very affable, but his mind was always somewhere else, like a computer.

Several months after Susan disappeared in 2007, I began dating a Marketing Executive at Ingles. I met her in the Jasper, GA Ingles Supermarket, while she was looking for more store sites, closer to Atlanta. She had herd dogs too, so we did a lot of hiking along the Swannanoa River Valley and Pisgah Mountains. At that time, much of the flood plain between Black Mountain and Asheville was still either pasture or woodland.

I was seriously considering moving back to Asheville to be near her. However, then the real estate market collapsed in Georgia and my work dried up. That was the last time that I was in a relationship.

Also, on the Revitalization Commission was Mimi Cecil, co-owner of the Biltmore Estate! She was one of my favorite people on the commission – very down-to-earth and pleasant to be around.

My secret friend and guardian angel in Asheville was Ruth Graham, wife of Rev. Billy Graham. I only saw Ruth, when Billy was out of town . . . which seemed to be quite often. I never met Billy or was invited to their house. Ruth would call me at the planning office and ask to meet me for lunch or at one of the construction sites.

Ruth was quite a bit older than me, but enjoyed having a spiritual architect-farmer as a secret friend, since she said that it was one of the few times that she could be herself. It was strictly friendship, but she described her life as being a supporting actress in a Christian movie. She didn’t have to pretend to be perfect or a holy roller around me.

Ingles Markets recently completed the construction of the largest cold storage warehouse in the Americas within its Black Mountain, NC Campus. It is in the Swannanoa River Flood Plain, but not directly adjacent to the river. At the bottom and upper right, you will see two large storm water retention ponds AND a levee to guide overflow water from the pond.

Note the natural buffers and vegetative screening around the site. The ponds and special landscaping are represent the type of technology we see in other metropolitan areas these days, but is generally missing in the Asheville Area.

What were they thinking?

One of the nation’s fastest growing supermarket chains just completed a central warehouse for ALL of its non-perishable foods that stored all of its tractor trailer trucks at the edge of a mountain river, which is prone to flood.

Apparently, I know something that the architects and engineers in Asheville don’t know. When you see level land next to a mountain river, it is going to flood sooner rather than later. NEVER build an occupied structure on such land. Yes, there are architectural details that may protect the building from water damage, but such structures will just force water to go higher up the elevation on somebody else’s land.

After finishing the previous article about the incredibly dangerous practice in western North Carolina of building commercial structures in flood hazard zones, I drove into town to buy some groceries at the Ingles Supermarket. Taped to the doors were notices that only cash or checks could used in the purchase of groceries. Say what?

I noticed a gloomy look on most of the Ingles employees. Something was amiss. Did Ingles Corporate receive damage from the floodwaters or all these people from western North Carolina?

Back in the days when I was an intelligence asset overseas or an inspiration for the X-files TV series in northern Virginia, I developed skills in how to glean important intelligence within conversation with regular folks. I struck up pleasant conversations with some department managers at Ingles and learned the information at the top of the article. I then confirmed that information by perusing the Asheville Citizen newspaper online.

I examined a lidar scan of the Ingles Markets Campus. The massive parking lot of the Central Warehouse was built on fill dirt. This technique raises a structure up to the level of a presumed 100 year flood. However, obviously either some bureaucrat or engineer grossly underestimated the potential flood level of the Swannanoa River. That is calculated by applying a maximum rate of rainfall in an hour with the total area of the catchment basin . . . which becomes enormous in a mountainous region.

This technique has been taught since I was in graduate school during the Bronze Age . . . but is discouraged. Building a structure on top of an earthen platform merely forces the water elsewhere. In this case, the result was disastrous. The platform accelerated the water flowing over Interstate 40 and caused it to deposit a wall of sand, muck and debris on the interstate . . . making it impassible. If I was a building inspector, I would have never approved the building’s location and plan. Obviously, there was heavy political pressure to do otherwise.

Whether or not Ingles Markets survives this crisis in its current form is questionable. Already, they were walking on thin ice by developing over half their stores in Georgia, but keeping all warehouses at one location near Asheville.

Right now the company is privately owned by the Ingles Family and major investors. Right now many of their employees at the Corporate Campus are either homeless, carless or both. Even more cannot get pass blocked roads. There are no working phones to call them to work. Little or no work can be done to clean up the mess for many days. Can this privately owned company survive such a huge loss of inventory, plus weeks or months of minimal income. I don’t know.

Remember this lesson the next time someone wants to sell you a property next to a river!