SWANNANOA, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A neighborhood grocery store has opened in Swannanoa, offering residents fresh food and local products after months of concern about a growing food desert in the community.

Rite Buy Grocery quietly opened Saturday in the Beacon Village area, filling a gap left after Tropical Storm Helene damaged infrastructure and delayed the reopening of Ingles, the town’s only major grocery store.

The extended closure, along with limited communication from the chain, left residents traveling miles for basic groceries and raised concerns about food access in the unincorporated community east of Asheville.

Earlier this year, Swannanoa residents Justin and Diana Rhodes decided to act.

“We kept hearing the same thing over and over again at community meetings — people needed a place to buy food,” Diana Rhodes said. “The calling to do this just became clearer.”

Rite Buy Grocery occupies just less than 1,200 square feet at 106 Alexander Place and focuses on fresh produce, dairy, meat and pantry staples, with an emphasis on locally sourced products. The store also carries a small selection of beer and wine.

The grocery features meat from Hickory Nut Gap, Joyce Farms and Shipley Family Farms, eggs from Hendersonville, dairy from local creameries, bread from Asheville’s City Bakery and a bulk foods section designed to offer more affordable options.

Rhodes said the store is designed to reflect how small community groceries once operated — personal, flexible and responsive to customer needs.

“We work closely with our vendors, so we can do custom orders,” she said. “That’s something you can’t do in a big-box grocery store.”

The response from the community has been swift. Rhodes estimated roughly 300 customers visited during the store’s opening weekend, despite little advance publicity.

“I’m absolutely thrilled,” she said. “People are excited when they walk through the door. The community support has been overwhelming.”

Customers have already requested expanded offerings, including additional cheeses and specialty dairy items, and Rhodes said she has begun searching for new small-scale vendors to meet those requests.

The store opened just before the official end of fall, meeting the owners’ original goal of launching by the season’s close. Rite Buy Grocery will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with limited Sunday hours.

For residents, the store represents more than convenience.

“It means people can get the basics without driving miles,” Rhodes said. “That matters in a small community like this.”