When Erika and Sean Comeaux took ownership of Hatch Coworking in 2021 they noticed something about the workers who often utilized the space.

“We saw that people that had been there for two or three years or longer didn't know each other's names,” Erika said. “It was still COVID-y, so everybody was still really afraid to talk to one another. Our whole goal is to intentionally build a community, but in a way where people don't have to trade business cards and shake hands, but they just meet naturally. And I think that that's something that we've seen. We've seen people start businesses. We've seen people start hiking groups and game nights, and we’re just watching friendships grow out of the working space. I guess sometimes people call it happy collisions, where you just run into people that you want to be running into on a daily basis and it's such a neat thing.”

Hatch Coworking, which is located in Asheville, opened in 2017 and has seen substantial growth in the past few years. The downtown space now has more than 10,000 square feet of coworking space, has an onsite gym, and plenty of dedicated parking. 

Coworking spaces aren’t a new trend, but an ever-growing brick and mortar space for remote workers or small businesses. It can be a place to network and share ideas or slip into an office for the quiet while still honoring a lunch-time commitment with others. Businesses catering to remote employees and entrepreneurs have popped up across Western North Carolina. According to a coworking industry report in 2025’s third quarter, there are now more than 8,400 coworking spaces in the United States and that includes more than 150 million square feet of space. While the majority of these businesses are in metropolitan areas, there are spaces in rural areas.

When Leniece Lane first began to talk with other professionals in Rutherford County about the idea of a coworking space, there was some confusion about the concept. This wasn’t a big city with a workforce more apt to work remotely. MackinGO, where Lane serves as the Operations Manager, launched in a repurposed, 1920s-era garage in downtown Rutherfordton in 2023 and has a metropolitan vibe.

“We wanted to bring urban amenities to rural communities. Our focus was on making it have a very urban feeling, even though it's in a rural community,” Lane said. “Everybody that comes in is like, 'oh my gosh, I feel like I'm in downtown Charlotte or Asheville' But it took a couple months to help educate what it really was. Now we have a constant waiting list.”

A waiting list that has pushed MackinGO into expansion plans, including a spot that will serve as an “incubator, accelerator space that will also offer training and have a podcast studio,” Lane said and another coworking space that is set to open above a future Irish pub.

Finding the right coworking space is like finding the right barber – sometimes it takes time. While one worker may want to build community, others simply want a clean desk and free coffee.

Michael Penn became the owner of a coworking space in Boone in 2023 and switched its name to Boone Coworking. His 3,800 square foot space is used by a variety of individuals, including several students from Appalachian State University. Penn is also a remote software engineer and said his space keeps “a corporate ambience.” 

That doesn’t mean every moment is silent. “I would say 80% of them, at the very least, take time to chat,” Penn said. “We'll have one or two Mr. or Mrs. Congenialities who are talking to the new people or making friends with them. We''ve had someone leave and they throw them goodbye parties and all that kind of stuff. I've had, especially some of the younger people who don't have families nearby, tell me that this is a key part of their social life. They are really appreciative for that.” 

One reason to join a coworking space is the ability to talk with others about their jobs. While pets may make great companions, they have a difficult time articulating their ideas to improve your Zoom presentation. Sometimes you need another person to bounce ideas off of.

Coworking spaces are more than just a physical location to do work remotely. It’s a chance to network, increase creativity, and decrease loneliness. While some spaces are more geared to strictly work-related tasks, others hope to build a social community within the office.

“We are a smaller co-working space, compared to all the other ones,” said WestBase Coworking Community Manager Sarahi Lopez. “So I think we provide more of an intimate setting where we get to know people more in their day-to-day lives and what they do outside of work versus other coworking spaces that might be more of a networking type thing. I feel like a lot of (our clients) weren't born and raised in Western North Carolina, so they look for that sense of local community instead of a virtual network. People here are looking for friends outside of work, too.”

WestBase Coworking is located on Haywood Road in Asheville and typically has a dozen or more workers in the space each day. 

Many coworking spaces have dedicated offices for those professionals who want more privacy along with long banks of desks that are open for use. With others working nearby there’s an opportunity for water-cooler chatter or have an after-hours drink at a nearby bar. These are all things that might not happen if you are secluded in a home office.

“It's like we all work together, even though we work for separate companies,” Lane said of the environment at MackinGo. It’s a statement that can be felt at different spots across Western North Carolina.