Hurricane Helene Floodwaters Destroyed the Opie Way Shoe Factory. Now, the Made in USA Community is Rallying to Help

"I worked this hard to get here and we were almost at our five-year mark, and it is unbelievable to me that a mountain hurricane would be the thing that would take us out," said Justin James, owner and founder of Opie Way. "I am dedicated and committed to make this happen, but we are going to need a little help." Photos courtesy Opie Way

The family-owned Made in USA shoe manufacturer, known for its stylish, high-end sneakers, suffered a total loss thanks to the hurricane. But fellow manufacturers are uniting behind Opie Way, and they need your help.

Justin James' dream as a kid was to design and manufacture sneakers in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, a vocation he realized in 1999 when he opened the Opie Way shoe factory.

While there are many obstacles and pitfalls that confront a new Made in America manufacturer these days, James never considered that his mountain-high business could be destroyed by a hurricane. But that is exactly what happened during the early morning hours of Friday, Sept. 27 when Hurricane Helene floodwaters roared through the Opie Way factory, destroying the company's machinery, finished shoes, shoemaking supplies and parts of the building.

"There was about a five- or six-foot-deep river running through the building, and it flooded pretty bad and just took everything with it," James said. "Outside in the parking lot, there were boxes, there were shoe soles that made their way outside the building. It was a complete disaster."

The Opie Way factory is housed in a 1 million-square-foot industrial building in the town of Fletcher, located near the Asheville airport. Many of the other manufacturers located in Cane Creek Industrial Park suffered a similar fate.

"Everybody that had stuff in there, it was all destroyed," James said. "Within two days, the floodwater that was inside was toxic and the first time I walked into the building it was very clear the building was full of mold. The floodwater had picked up all sorts of hazardous materials, sewage, and oil.

"We lost over $100,000 of materials, $200,000 of machinery, tools, and equipment that was pretty much gone. We were able to salvage about 25 pair of shoes and we have been able to dig out some machines from the mud and ship the mess to the old White Oak/Cone Mills denim factory in Greensboro, where we are going to go see if anything is salvageable."

News reports during catastrophic weather events, rightfully so, focus on people's lives and their homes. James, his wife Amanda, and their three young daughters made it through the storm safely, and are now left to pick up the pieces of the family business.

And there are others there to help.

People involved in the small community of Made in America products often feel a kinship with each other, having travailed many of the same obstacles to success. So, it is heartwarming to know that many of the small companies that sell Opie Way shoes have rallied to provide aid.

Evan Morrison, co-owner of Hudson's Hill general store in Greensboro, N.C., stepped right up and created a GoFundMe page to collect donations for Opie Way and the James family. As of publication, more than $73,000 has been raised, with a final goal of $150,000.

Morrison also sold out his stock of Opie Way sneakers that he sells at his Hudson's Hill retail location, with 100% of the proceeds going to Opie Way. Other Opie Way retailers in the area are doing the same.

Morrison and Hudson's Hill have raised just shy of $10,000 in sales from the remaining Opie Way inventory. And his friends at American-made Raleigh Denim have also raised another $7,000 with the sales of their remaining stock.

"The sense of community in the Made in USA is strong and there are thousands of avid supporters of brands making things stateside across the globe," Morrison said. "Now, more than ever, we can show our support by banding together and sending donations to not only keep their lights on and food on their plates, but also to have a fighting chance to recover and again produce sneakers.

"This is going to be a total loss and only some items can be salvaged. This family-run, family-owned business will have to recover from the loss of the machinery, the loss of the materials, employees that will have no place to work and outstanding orders that can't be filled."

Building a small, American-made footwear factory is no easy task. But with the many distinctive designs and skews of shoes offered by Opie Way, business had really begun to gain traction. Before the storm, the Opie Way team were putting in 18-to-20-hour workdays to make quality sneakers using the highest grade of materials.

Justin and Amanda James of Opie Way (left). Opie Way sneakers (right).

"We have this boost of, okay, people understand what we are doing, and people are rooting for us and my commitment is we're going to have to figure this out, and we're going to provide something than even better before," James said. "I will forever be grateful no matter where we go from here. It is completely possible to make things well in America.

"We kind of have this Made in America thing going on in North Carolina, and all of these brands have pulled together to rally behind us. When I started this company, I had so many people tell me that it's going to be too hard, that it's going to be too expensive and I felt very much from the beginning that there is a group of manufacturers here that are really trying to come together and do things together and that hasn't been so certain as it is right now.

"If we really want to make a change and bring things back to domestic manufacturing, I think that how it's got to be. This group of domestic brands I think understands that."

Opie Way sneakers are handmade in North Carolina and feature mostly leather uppers attached to a replaceable sole. A big selling point was that after three years a customer could send the shoes back to the factory, where the Opie Way team will replace the soles and clean the uppers.

James and his local group of Made in America business owners are all between 30- and 40-years old and remain resilient that they can restore domestic manufacturing that has been lost during the past 30 years.

Said Morrison: "It's been amazing to watch the donations roll in, and to see this directly equate to the rekindling of belief in Justin, that it is more than possible to not only survive, but to rebuild better than before.

"There are so many dying trades in the USA, whether it's weaving, cobbling, shoemaking, blacksmithing and apparel manufacturing and not all of them should go away permanently. As a nation, we've grown far too dependent on other peoples' hard work and labor and we've arrived at a place where most people don't know where things come from, how things are made, nor do they know how to repair them when broken or something needs fixing.

"There is something to be said in 2024 for working with one's hands, making real tangible physical products and walking away at the end of the day with something to show for one's effort. This is something iconized by Americans and that spirit deserves being preserved by Americans."

James is ready to get back in the fight for American manufacturing, but knows it will take time and money before he is producing Opie Way sneakers again.

"I worked this hard to get here and we were almost at our five-year mark, and it is unbelievable to me that a mountain hurricane would be the thing that would take us out," James said. "I am dedicated and committed to make this happen, but we are going to need a little help."

To make donations to the GoFundMe campaign go to Fundraiser for Justin James by Evan Morrison : Save Opie Way: Support The James' Family Business (gofundme.com).

James was able to save a small amount of Opie Way inventory that will be added to the company website soon. Nearly all Opie Ways items are listed as sold out, but watch for updates.

There is also a raffle set up by Go Fast Campers, which features nearly 100 items available from manufacturers across the United States. For every $20 that is donated to the GoFundMe campaign, you will receive one ticket for the raffle. To enter visit Opie Way Sweepstakes - GoFastCampers.

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