No longer simply a sleepy stopping point between Asheville and Hendersonville, Fletcher, NC is now a destination in its own right. The town has been growing at a steady and smooth pace in recent years thanks to lower housing costs and its convenient location. Business owners, including those at Blue Ghost Brewing, are taking note of this growth for their own gain.
“I think if I had to describe Fletcher in three words, they would be CONVENIENT, GROWING, and NICE,” said Zach Horn, a Fletcher resident and co-owner/brewer at Blue Ghost Brewing Company.
Fletcher’s adjacent location to Interstate 26 is among the many reasons the community has more than doubled in size over the last 20 years. The current population of 7,600 enjoy their proximity to some of Western North Carolina’s biggest attractions, businesses, and natural wonders. Fletcher is conveniently located near the Pisgah National Forest and Blue Ridge Parkway, havens for sightseers, cyclists, and outdoor adventurists of all types.
“We fell in love with this area, with everything there is to do outside, the convenience, again, a lot of free things to do, and it’s a great climate—just a lot of great things that we enjoyed, and we moved here because we wanted to be here,” said Horn.
In fact, Blue Ghost Brewing draws its inspiration and its mission from local ecology. “One of the names that stood out to us was Blue Ghost because of the fireflies that are native to this region,” said Horn. ”It really tied into what we’re trying to create here, as far as family. Kids love catching fireflies in Mason jars in the summertime. We were able to pull all those elements into the brewery.”
Fletcher is also uniquely positioned for national and international beer tourists. Blue Ghost is just minutes away from Asheville Regional Airport, currently home to six airlines offering over a dozen regional and national destinations. Across the street, the WNC Agricultural Center’s 87-acre facility hosts events year round that attract vendors and visitors to its grounds.
“Our customers come a lot from Hendersonville, Mills River, Fletcher, Asheville—because we’re in the middle, like Fletcher. We have a lot of nice customers, and it just translates into the local community,” said Horn.
And, of course, beer tourists can enjoy the many nearby breweries in Asheville, Hendersonville, and surrounding areas.
“We’re I-don’t-know-what-number brewery—once we started here, 50-plus—so the culture had already been established,” said Horn. However, Horn sees his fellow brewers as more of a community than competition. “The climate, the water is soft—it’s perfect for brewing because you can add to it and don’t have to worry about taking out things. It just sets up the perfect scenario for brewing beer.”
Horn continued: “We try to bring in all of our passions from outside of brewing into the business. For example, I used to be a biology teacher, so we have a natural history educational series that we’ve been doing the last five months. We’re about to have a talk about Blue Ghost Fireflies to end it for the season. Bringing all those other passions in is a big driver behind our brewery, for sure.”
Fletcher’s business community is growing with new, locally-owned businesses opening every year. See more about growing Fletcher for yourself! Read more about Fletcher, NC, see more photos, or search for homes in the area, from our Beverly-Hanks Fletcher community page.