“It was actually our best month for our lunch service yet,” he explains, probably aided by increased daytime holiday shopping downtown. “It was pleasantly busy,” Koslow says, noting that many neighboring downtown businesses reported similar conditions. “This is not to say that the businesses in downtown or businesses of South Slope are not struggling,” she says. “We are seeing, in addition to local trends post-Helene, there are also national trends that are impacting our businesses downtown, for sure.”Local support has played a key role in sustaining downtown. That effort includes the ambassador program, part of the Asheville Downtown Improvement District that launched in June.