AVL Biz Weekly — June 24–30: Hot Wings, AI for Realtors & Grant Application Days

Welcome to AVL BIZ Weekly—your local cheat sheet for what’s happening in Asheville’s small business + creative scenes.

Each week: hand-picked events, marketing ideas that actually work, and a little local flavor to keep things fun.

My name's Jason and I'm writing this (connect with me here).

Hey friends,

Hey friends,

I’m bringing back Founder's Lunch July 8 at Tupelo Honey South. Noon, pay your own way, no pitch theater. Real conversations between business owners who have accepted that speed-networking is a scam where the only winners are the organizers. Details below if you're in.

This week also has a zoning roundtable Wednesday that's worth showing up to if you care about what gets built in this city. And if you've been sitting on a grant application, Noir Collective AVL has a room at YMI on June 29 with non-robot humans to help you get through the paperwork.

Outside of work: a Heritage Market, summer wildflowers at the Arboretum, live-band burlesque Friday night, and a Spielberg movie night at Thirsty Monk South. Plus more music than you can possibly attend.

Let's get into it.

📋 On Deck

• Special Event: Founder’s Lunch with me at Tupelo Honey South — real business conversation, no pitch-circle bs.

• Business Events: Hot Wings & Handshakes, Java&Script coffee in the RAD, AI for Realtors, Black & BIPOC grant application support, zoning talk, designer education, and custom mountain home planning.

• Marketing Quickies: How automation keeps leads from dying while you’re doing literally anything else.

• Fun Stuff: Summer wildflowers, scavenger hunts, dance, creative workshops, comedy, and Asheville summer weirdness.

• Bands & Shows: Ramblin’ Man, Palmer Anthony, Andrew Scotchie & Friends, Black Mountain Bluegrass Jam, and more.

🙋 Want your biz featured in front of a few really smart AVL business owners? Email me for details

🗓️ Business Events

• 🗓️ Hot Wings & Handshakes — Community Networking on Fire — Wednesday, June 24 · 5:30 PM (The Mule, 131 Sweeten Creek Rd. Ste 10, Asheville, NC)

  AABA is doing networking with wings, heat levels, and conversation prompts, which already makes it more interesting than 90% of rooms where people pretend to love elevator pitches. You sit with a small group, work through hotter wings, answer questions, and have actual conversations as the spice slowly removes everyone’s corporate mask.

• 🗓️ Java&Script: Summer Summit — Thursday, June 25 · 8:00–10:00 AM (Summit Coffee, 37 Paynes Way Suite 009, Asheville, NC)

  The avl.js crew is getting caffeinated at Summit Coffee in the RAD, now sharing space with Joyful Noise. Good for developers, tech folks, founders, and anyone who thinks “early morning JavaScript social” sounds either productive or medically concerning.

• 🗓️ AI for Realtors: Listings, Emails, and Social Content Workshop — Wednesday, June 24 (A-B Tech Enka, 1459 Sand Hill Rd, Candler, NC — verify time before publishing)

  A practical workshop for real estate pros who want to use AI for listing descriptions, emails, and social content without sounding like they outsourced their soul to a robot. Good for agents, brokers, real estate marketers, and anyone whose “quick post” keeps turning into 47 minutes of blinking at a blank box.

• 🗓️ Black & BIPOC Business Grant Application Days — Monday, June 29 · 6:00 PM (YMI Cultural Center, 39 S Market St, Asheville, NC)

  Noir Collective AVL hosts a collaborative grant application space for Black and BIPOC business owners who want support getting through the paperwork instead of fighting the forms alone at midnight. Good for founders, small business owners, and anyone who knows the opportunity is real but the application portal was clearly designed by someone with unresolved issues.

• 🗓️ City of Asheville Zoning — A Roundtable Discussion — Wednesday, June 24 (Trinity Episcopal Church, Asheville — verify time before publishing)

  AIA Western North Carolina hosts a roundtable on Asheville zoning, which is one of those topics that sounds dry until you remember it affects housing, development, design, small business growth, and basically the shape of the city. Good for architects, builders, developers, planners, neighborhood-watchers, and anyone who enjoys civic complexity with a side of “well, actually…”

• 🗓️ From Dream to Reality: Build Your Custom Mountain Home in 2026 — Wednesday, June 24 (Grand Bohemian Lodge Asheville, Asheville, NC — verify time before publishing)

  A custom mountain home event for people thinking seriously about building in Western North Carolina. Good for builders, designers, real estate folks, and anyone whose Zillow habit has escalated into “maybe we should talk to an architect.”

• 🗓️ ASID Carolinas: Designer Education Morning and Tour of Northside Design — Friday, June 26 (Northside Design Collective, Asheville, NC — verify time before publishing)

  ASID Carolinas brings a designer education morning and tour to Northside Design Collective. Good for interior designers, architects, builders, creatives, and anyone whose job involves making spaces look intentional instead of “we found this on clearance.”

Hosting something cool?

📬 Hit reply and tell me what you think. Or share an event!

💡 Marketing Quickies

Your follow-up should not depend on you noticing the lead in time.

Most contractors and professional service businesses do not lose leads because they are bad at the work.

They lose leads because someone called while they were on a ladder, submitted a form while they were driving, or asked for a quote right when the day turned into a flaming group text.

That is not a character flaw.

That is a system problem.

This week’s Show Up and Follow Up move: automate the first response so the lead gets acknowledged before they wander off to the next company on Google.

1. Turn missed calls into text conversations.

If someone calls and you cannot answer, they should not hit voicemail and start shopping around.

Set up a missed-call text-back that fires automatically.

Something simple: “Hey, this is [Business Name]. Sorry we missed your call. What can we help with? Send us a few details and we’ll follow up shortly.”

That little text can save the job while you’re still finishing the job you’re already on.

And yes, this is exactly the kind of boring automation that makes money because it handles the moment where most businesses drop the ball.

2. Send an instant confirmation after every form submission.

If your website form just says “Thanks, we’ll be in touch,” that is technically a response.

Barely.

A better version sends an automatic SMS or email that tells the lead what happens next.

Example:

“Thanks for reaching out to [Business Name]. We got your request for [service]. If you have photos, you can reply here with them. We’ll follow up with next steps shortly.”

Now the customer knows the request went through.

You also start the conversation before your competitor does.

That is the whole point.

3. Keep old leads out of the spreadsheet cemetery.

Not every lead books today.

Some people are comparing quotes. Some are waiting for a paycheck. Some are “thinking about it,” which is customer language for “please remind me later because I am also overwhelmed.”

Set up a simple follow-up sequence:

Day 1: Confirm the request

Day 3: Answer a common question

Day 7: Share a review or project photo

Day 30: Check if they still need help

Month 3, 6, 9, 12: Stay visible without being annoying

That is how you keep showing up without personally remembering to chase every lead like a caffeinated golden retriever.

Local Business Spotlight

This week: Evan McIntosh of Ducky Ducks, the indoor air quality company that's become the go-to for projects most outfits won't touch.

If you run a local business and want to be featured, reply to this email. I'm building the list.

Ducky Ducks — The Guy Putting Probiotics In Your House Air

Evan McIntosh has done two things well in his career: finance and HVAC. So when a lovely couple from Weaverville decided to sell their duct cleaning company after running it for 25 years, the timing felt right. "I was looking to make a move and do more entrepreneurial related things," he says. That was almost seven years ago, and he's still in contact with the original owners who started Ducky Ducks back in 1996.

The name comes from a young girl who suggested they call it "Ducky Ducks" because their ducts would be "just ducky." It stuck. But what Evan's doing goes way beyond basic duct cleaning. His team applies indoor air quality probiotics throughout homes, the same concept as gut health but for your house. "You're trying to overpopulate the surfaces in the home with healthy bacteria, to crowd out the bad bacteria, and to consume household allergens," he explains.

Post-Hurricane Helene, Ducky Ducks tackled their biggest project yet, cleaning more ducts in one location than they'd ever done before at a complex affected by the storm. They've also worked on challenging commercial projects like medical centers and the Cummings plant, places that require special containment and air pressure control. "Ducky Ducks has kind of gotten a name for themselves, of being the go-tos when there's a bigger project that has complexities to it."

Day in the life

1. Favorite coffee or breakfast spot? PennyCup Coffee Co. and Biscuit Head off Hendersonville Road because his son loves it.

2. Fitness routine? Basic workout equipment at home, plus mountain biking or gravel rides in the Mills River area.

3. A new local spot to try? Sierra Nevada and the walking trail down to to the French Broad River, especially when there is music at the lower location on weekends.

4. First-time visitor? Downtown Asheville on a pretty day, then West Asheville for dinner and coffee.

Want to work with them?

Visit Ducky Ducts or call (828) 645-9964 for duct cleaning, indoor air quality questions, or related work through Green Home Solutions.

🎉 Fun Stuff Around AVL

• 🗓️ Summer Wildflowers of the NC Arboretum — Thursday, June 25 · 1:00 PM (The North Carolina Arboretum, 20 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville, NC)

  A summer wildflower event for people who want to know what they are actually looking at when they point at something pretty and say “flower.” Good for plant people, hikers, gardeners, and anyone whose camera roll needs more informed enthusiasm.

• 🗓️ Paint & Sip — Herb Garden — Thursday, June 25 · 7:00–9:00 PM (Wicked Weed Funkatorium, 147 Coxe Ave, Asheville, NC)

  A relaxed paint-and-sip night where you’ll make a plant-inspired canvas at the Funkatorium. Good for date night, friend night, or anyone who wants to make something with their hands that is not another half-finished Notes app idea.

• 🗓️ Asheville Heritage Market — Friday, June 26 10 AM-5 PM (1 Lodge St, Asheville, NC )

  Velvet Crown Events brings a Heritage Market to the Biltmore entrance area. Good for market wanderers, local shoppers, and anyone who says “I’m just looking” before walking away with a candle, a print, and a snack.

• 🗓️ Adrianne’s Starlight Spectacular: Live Band Burlesque — Friday, June 26 (Day Trip, Asheville, NC — verify time before publishing)

  A live-band burlesque show at Day Trip. Good for people who like their Friday with music, rhinestones, and a story for Saturday morning.

• 🗓️ Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day — Dinner, Drinks & Movie — Saturday, June 27 · 6:30–9:30 PM (Thirsty Monk South, 1836 Hendersonville Rd Suite 101, Asheville, NC)

  Dinner, drinks, and a Spielberg movie night with the Friendly People in Asheville crew. Good for sci-fi people, movie people, and anyone who wants a social plan that does not require pretending to enjoy networking.

• 🗓️ Saturday Market + Brunch in Downtown Asheville — Saturday, June 27 · 9:30 AM–12:30 PM (Asheville City Market, Market St, Asheville, NC)

  A Saturday morning market walk followed by brunch downtown with the Asheville Transplants crew. Good for new locals, solo attendees, and anyone who wants to meet people while pretending they only came for produce.

🎧 Bands on the Horizon

• Black Mountain Bluegrass Jam “Unplugged” — Tue, Jun 30 · 6 PM @ Pisgah Brewing Taproom Stage

• Henry Cho: The Empty Nest Tour — Fri, Jun 26 · 8 PM @ The Orange Peel

• Henry Cho: The Empty Nest Tour — Sat, Jun 27 · 8 PM @ The Orange Peel

• Sonido Gallo Negro — Fri, Jun 26 · 8 PM @ The Grey Eagle

• Swift Silver — Sat, Jun 27 · 2 PM @ The Grey Eagle Patio Stage

• DJ Giddy Up: Saturday Night Hoedown — Sat, Jun 27 · 7 PM @ The Grey Eagle

• The Yard Sails — Sun, Jun 28 · 5:30 PM @ The Grey Eagle Patio Stage

• The Hungry & Dangerous — Sun, Jun 28 · 8 PM @ The Grey Eagle

• NOW That’s What I Call Music BINGO! — Tue, Jun 30 · 6 PM @ The Grey Eagle

• Early Tuesday Jam — Tue, Jun 30 · 10 PM @ The One Stop

That's the week.

And if you know someone who should be reading this, forward them the email.

See you around town,

Jason De Los Santos
Pixelated Stories Digital Marketing
(828) 585-4293