WNY couple forced to rebuild after Helene washes Bills Backers Bar in Asheville away

BUFFALO N.Y. (WIVB) – It’s been three weeks since hurricane Helene wreaked havoc in North Carolina, wiping out homes and businesses. One bar in Asheville, with strong ties to Western New York and Bills mafia, was destroyed.

Terri Dolan owned the Rootbar in Asheville. It was a popular spot for Buffalo Bills fans after her husband, Gene, turned it into a Bills Backers Bar. Gene is from Lackawanna and is a proud member of Bills mafia. He wanted to create a space where fans could go to enjoy the games.

“It’s a dive bar and reminded me of a little old corner bar in Buffalo,” he said. “The communal aspect of it, we’d come together to do potlucks and even the guys who weren’t Bills fans ended up wearing Bills hats and cooking buffalo chicken dip, coming together and having a really fun time.”

That is until Hurricane Helene washed it all away.

“We pulled up and we kind of just walked around and it was overwhelming,” said Terri Dolan as she remembered the moment she saw what was left of her business after the hurricane.

“Lots of heavy things hit that building in the middle of this very fast moving flood,” Terri said.

Terri and Gene are now forced to rebuild.

“Now it’s brutal because it’s gone,” Terri said. “That space is not there anymore.”

She said her loyal customers have been reaching out.

“It’s become very clear to me that my customers are a little lost, they don’t have anywhere to go,” she said.

In the days after the hurricane, Terri and Gene checked in on their neighbors first as many of them didn’t have power or clean water.

The couple proved you don’t need a building to find a sense of community.

“It sounds like Buffalo people know, when it gets bad how to take care of themselves and hunker down,” Terri said. “That’s what we did here.”

As far as plans for the bar, Terri says she’d like to open a new one, but in a different location in Asheville.

“I will try to rebuild my business for them. It will not be easy,” she said. “When people ask if the Rootbar is gone, I say that the Rootbar is gone from 1410 tunnel road. We will never put it back there.”

You can click here to donate and help those impacted by Helene.

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Sarah Minkewicz is an Emmy-nominated reporter and Buffalo native who has been a part of the News 4 team since 2019. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahMinkewicz and click here to see more of her work.

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