Board denies penalty forgiveness for Grove Arcade restaurant over unfiled business property listings

The Buncombe County Board of Equalization and Review denied a request to forgive penalties for Chipani Grove Arcade LLC after finding the restaurant group failed to file business personal property listings for 2021–2023.

Anne Grover, finance manager for the restaurant group that operates the Grove Arcade location, told the board the company did not dispute the assessed tax amount and called the omission an "honest oversight." Grover said the location originally opened as Nani's Chicken Mortisserie and that the group files property taxes for its other Asheville locations.

County staff told the board they mailed a discovery notice covering tax years 2021–2023 with a discovery total of $4,418.25, which includes $1,030.24 in penalties. Staff later clarified the tax portion of the discovery was $3,388 and that the penalty amount was $1,030.24. The assessor's office said the discovery was completed in 2025 and the tax bill will not accrue interest until the county's usual interest start date.

Board members said the business operates multiple local locations and had timely filings elsewhere, making it difficult to treat this case as an isolated, excusable lapse. One board member said a strict interpretation of the statute would require denying relief, and the motion to deny forgiveness — which instructed the appellant to pay the total penalty and taxes — passed in a voice vote. The transcript records the motion passed but does not provide a roll call tally.

The assessor's office said the initial amount is not yet paid and that the bill is due later in the billing cycle; interest will begin to accrue per county practice after the due date.