Celtic Way in Asheville, NC

[Bob C]

Are any of you familiar with this store? My daughter went in there to buy me a gift and was treated horribly by the woman who owns it. A Google search shows she is well-known for this sort of behavior.

I'm pretty angry about this. If I did not live hundreds of miles away, I'd go and have a chat with this woman.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I've never been in there, but every year during tourist season we get people coming through the museum who had just been through Asheville, and they ask us pretty much the same thing you just asked here on the forum. So the reputation seems well earned.

[Tartan Hiker]

I agree. I live here in Asheville and I tell everyone to avoid that shop. Her usual motus operandi is to grill you with questions as you enter the store. If you don't respond correctly (or if you are obviously from an ethnic extraction other than western European) you will be treated badly until you get fed up and leave. I was in there one day (before I finally learned better) and watched her meet an African American couple at the door and flat-out tell them that this was not the place for them to shop.

Unbelieveable.

I have actually developed the habit of deliberately walking past her shop whenever I'm kilted downtown. I walk past, but never go in.

I do offer an apology to you for your daughter's treatment. We are actually much nicer down here than this indicates. And don't worry about "having a chat" with her. It's been done many times, I can assure you, and to no noticable effect. She is the judge and jury of all things Highland in the southern Appalachians, in her mind, and she'll not be changed at this stage of the game. We can only hope that someone else takes over the store some day.

[Bob C]

Her usual motus operandi is to grill you with questions as you enter the store. If you don't respond correctly (or if you are obviously from an ethnic extraction other than western European) you will be treated badly until you get fed up and leave.

That's exactly what happened to my daughter and her friend. They're college students and the woman asked them what they were studying. When my daughter said she planned to be a school teacher and the friend said she planned to be a social worker, the witch went off on them about how there should be no public schools and that all social workers do is sign people up for welfare.

My daughter took the crap for a while, she said, because the merchandise was very nice and she wanted to surprise me with a gift. The witch wore her out, though, and she left.


BTW - No apology necessary, Hiker. It's hardly the fault of you or your city that this person has chosen to place herself in your midst.

[MJBoston]

Hi, all! I only just now joined your forum, so that I could post a reply to this thread. My parents were recently down in Asheville, and they wandered into this store -- largely because they were impressed by some of the Irish material in the window (maps of Ireland that featured various surnames and whatnot). My father's family is from Ireland. Immediately after they walked in (my father wasn't even totally in the store yet), the woman asked them where they were from, and when my parents told her... and mentioned the counties where my grandparents were born and raised...her response was a curt and sarcastic "wherever that is." My parents were surprised that she hadn't heard of these counties -- given that she was running a store called "The Celtic Way" -- and my mother was more than a little put off by the woman's tone. But they decided not to pursue the issue and attempted just to look at the items in the store. The WOMAN did want to pursue the issue, however. She proceeded to lecture my parents about how ignorant they were for thinking that the store had anything to offer them... even using that word, "ignorant," to describe them. I don't know all the details, but I get the impression the overall tone of her assault was that they had no business being in the store because they were Irish, rather than Scottish (even though there was a freakin' map of Ireland in the storefront!). She told them to leave -- that they were trespassing on private property. As my mother was telling me this story on the phone, I simply typed "Celtic Way" + "Asheville" into Google, and your forum was the first link to come up. I must say, it was rather gratifying (and even amusing) to see that my parents aren't the only ones to have experienced this woman's bizarre behavior. And although I have no trouble believing she is a racist (re: an earlier post about the way she treated an African-American couple), it would seem that she exhibits a very confused degree of ethnocentrism, as well (not to mention bad business practices and horrible manners!). I post this message as a warning to anyone who happens to visit the gorgeous mountains of western North Carolina -- don't spoil your trip by hiking "The Celtic Way!"

[Bob C]

I simply typed "Celtic Way" + "Asheville" into Google, and your forum was the first link to come up.

This is quite satisfying. I hope the witch Googles her own store.

[Kiltboy]

Oh dear. I was planning a trip through Asheville and was going to stop by. Thanks for the tip, I'll re-think my plans.

[Rex_Tremende]

Yes, indeed. I had a similar experience.

Regards,
Rex.

[Santa Kona]

Does this lady not know this is 2010? What a waste of effort on her part it is just so very sad.

[Spc. Scott]

She (store owner) sounds like a classic case of one who cannot be "happy" unless they are unhappy. That's a shame.

I'm sorry that your daughter was treated like that Bob.