After returning to Western North Carolina from Charlotte in July of 2023, Dave Bergman and Ambre Mehenni recently celebrated the Grand Opening of their new venture — Hendersonville Outfitters.

Always having a love of fishing, Bergman graduated from Brevard College with a degree in Wilderness Leadership. Mehenni’s passion is for the arts, and having grown up in the Netherlands, she loved her time spent fishing in the canals with her father as a child.

The couple met in 2015 while teaching fishing and art at a WNC summer camp. They moved to Charlotte where Bergman worked as a lead guide and top salesman for Jesse Brown’s Outdoor and Mehenni worked as an art director for the local YMCA.

“One day I woke up and thought about having my own store,” Bergman said. “I knew I wanted to get back to Western North Carolina, and I worked on a business plan and everything escalated. I learned a lot in Charlotte, but I knew it wasn’t where I wanted to stay.”

While trout fishing and fly fishing are popular locally, they also wanted to outfit people in preparation for other types of fishing like saltwater fishing trips to the coast. The couple wanted their new store to be a haven for all fish lovers; there is gear available for all types of fishing, and they are one of the only outfitters stores around that stocks live bait.

“It’s a non-gatekeeping environment,” Bergman said. “Many other shops around here are centered only on fly fishing, and we are here to help everyone.”

In addition to stocking fishing gear, Hendersonville Outfitters also offers private guided fishing trips. Bergman has been a wilderness first responder for 10 years and has a NC guide license, and they run trips a few times per week. 

“It’s not about being good at fishing; it’s about being good at teaching,” Bergman said. “We are client-friendly and attuned to the skills of others, and our experiences come in handy when sharing that with someone else.”

Mehenni brings her background in the arts into Hendersonville Outfitters as well. She focuses on finding local art and craft products into the store, as well as worked out the store’s color scheme, logo, and design for the company.

Learn more about Hendersonville Outfitters at HendersonvilleOutfitters.com or by calling 828-595-3550.