For second Thanksgiving, shoppers wait for Ingles, City waits for info

For the second Thanksgiving season since Hurricane Helene, western North Carolina’s leading local grocer has Morganton shoppers heading anywhere but Carbon City Road to gather ingredients for those generational recipes expected for several food-filled holidays.

While some Ingles locations that suffered extended closure after the storm have reopened, a couple remain closed, Morganton’s included.

Morganton municipal staff say they are still in the dark regarding Ingle’s intentions and have not received information recently from the company, according to both Development and Design Director Wendy Smith and Chief Building Inspector Mike Fincher.

On Tuesday morning, the lights were on in the store, but from the looks of the interior a reopening doesn’t appear to be coming anytime soon. Passersby can see a stack of PVC pipe at the entrance, and, if they peer in the windows, see missing chunks of flooring that reveal the foundation beneath.

Ingles management operating out of Marion said confidentially last week that construction on the Carbon City Road site were stalled in part because the Black Mountain-based corporation’s previous budget was strained.

The new budget is “promising” he said, and work will resume. Morganton’s store will reopen. No timetables were mentioned.

After Helene swept through in September 2024, the city automatically issued a building permit to Ingles so construction crews could start repairs.

Ingles halted construction in February after notifying the city of plans to pursue a new design. The city issued a stop work order on Feb. 19, which Fincher said was the result of plans changing.

After nine months, those new plans have not been submitted, Smith said.

The company could have resumed with their original plans over the summer but only had a six-month window to do so. That period ended in mid-August. Now, the company will have to apply for a new building permit regardless of whether their plans are the same or they come forth with a new design.

According to Smith, when Ingles does decide to submit building plans, the reviews generally take a week or two, but the company can pay a fast track fee to have them reviewed quicker. According to the city’s Development and Design Services fee schedule, fast track architectural plan reviews are $150 per hour.

Morganton residents reminisce over what sets Ingles apart from other grocers, including its specialty-cut meats from the meat department, the best cold cuts from the deli, and its diverse international aisle. Ingles has been western North Carolina’s leading local supermarket since the 1960s, and the company has reopened or provided plans to reopen some of its stores that were affected by Helene.

Of the locations most affected by Helene, Newland’s location has reopened. Ingles officials have also met with Buncombe County planners with plans to construct a new store next to their old location in Swannanoa.

Requests to Ingles corporate for an update on when the company plans to reopen the Morganton location or submit building plans to the city were not returned by Ingles Chief Financial Officer Pat Jackson.

Omega Construction of Winston Salem is listed on permits as the contractor. Omega did not return requests for information.