HENDERSONVILLE — In early December, Amy Rognstad opened Honeysuckle Holler, a country dance bar at 101 E. Allen St. in downtown Hendersonville.
“It’s not like your typical honky-tonk,“ she told the Hendersonville Times-News. “It’s an elevated experience, so kind of like a country-chic bar.” Instead of “man cave vibes,” she said, it has greenery and craft cocktails.
Rognstad, 34, will continue to work a day job for Habitat for Humanity and be at the bar when it’s open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. She chose not to open on New Year’s Eve but expects business will grow organically in 2025.
“We seem to have a good group of regulars who have found us already,” Rognstad said. Popular dance styles include two-step, country swing and West Coast swing, she said. “We’ve got some people who shag dance.”
Admission is free, and an instructor, Tianna Miller, teaches line dancing every Thursday.
On Jan. 4, instructor Missy Lindsey is hosting a two-step workshop ($10 in advance, $15 at the door).
Robert R. Williford, president of the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, said he’s not a line dancer, but welcomed the new bar.
“Downtown Hendersonville, 25 years ago, there was not a whole lot of nightlife,” Williford said. “There were a few restaurants that were open in the evening.” He said Honeysuckle Holler would let people enjoy a night out without having to travel.
“Honeysuckle Holler looks to become a unique complement to Hendersonville’s restaurant and craft beverage scene for downtown and beyond,” said Michelle Owens, executive director of the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority. She said the agency would do its best to share their story with potential visitors.
Rognstad, who is from Charlotte, followed her parents when they moved to Hendersonville about seven years ago, she said.
“I failed at moving to Hendersonville at that point in time, because I kept wanting a place that I could dance and opportunities for that, and there just wasn’t one,” she recalled. She figured If nobody beat her to it, she’d open one herself.
In Charlotte, country music and line dancing are popular at venues like Coyote Joe’s and The Rose Honky Tonk. In Nashville, such establishments are good for business. The Tennessean reported that tourists spent nearly $10 billion in surrounding Davidson County in 2022, including almost $3 billion on food and beverages, according to an estimate from the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.
Rognstad is Honeysuckle Holler’s sole owner. She estimated that start-up costs were about $200,000, including the cost of furniture, equipment and alcohol. Licensing fees to be allowed to play copyrighted songs cost around $8,000, she said.
She took out a loan from the Small Business Administration and had to secure licenses to sell alcohol. She looked at many commercial spaces, eventually leasing one that was formerly occupied by The Second Act.
“I’ve worked in several bar/restaurant environments, but was never obviously the owner,” Rognstad said. “It’s different when you know you’re the one on the hook for everything alone, for all of it.” She said the business did not suffer physical damage from Tropical Storm Helene, which hit Western North Carolina Sept. 27, but opening was delayed because of the storm.
Rognstad said people are welcome at Honeysuckle Holler even if they don’t dance at all.
“You can come here and just sit and watch and have a really good cocktail, or you can jump out there and try to learn a dance,” she said. “Whatever is most comfortable for for you.”
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Deirdra Funcheon is a reporter coving Henderson, Polk and Transylvania Counties for the Hendersonville Times-News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Tips, comments, questions? Email[email protected].
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