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Episode 6 - Living Local with Kelly Baker of PuroClean South Asheville
Date: 11/3/25
Duration: 22:13
Guest: Kelly Baker
Website: PuroClean of South Asheville
Listen on Spotify:
🎙️ Episode 6 – “The Paramedics of Property Damage” with Kelly Baker of PuroClean South Asheville
In this episode of Living Local with Ed Frisbee, we sit down with Kelly Baker, Business Development Manager and partner at PuroClean of South Asheville — the team known as the paramedics of property damage. Kelly shares how her franchise helps homeowners and businesses recover from water, fire, mold, and biohazard damage, available 24/7 emergency response.
We dive into:
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What PuroClean does and how they’re different from larger national chains like ServPro
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How their local South Asheville team gets to homeowners within two hours, even at midnight
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Kelly’s fascinating career path — from NASCAR marketing to automotive advertising to restoration
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The passion behind helping families through disasters with empathy and urgency
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Favorite Asheville restaurants, food trucks, and hidden gems in Mills River and High Vista
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PuroClean’s community commitment and opportunities for those who want meaningful local work
Whether you’re a homeowner, real estate agent, or just love local business stories, you’ll enjoy this down-to-earth conversation packed with energy, heart, and great local insight.
📍 Guest: Kelly Baker – PuroClean South Asheville
🌐 Website: puroclean.com
📞 Call: 828-974-8408
🎧 Tune in to learn: Why Kelly calls PuroClean the “paramedics of property damage” and how her team is helping Asheville recover — one home at a time.
Watch on Youtube:
Transcript:
Hey, it's Ed and thanks for joining us on Living Local and today our special guest is Kelly Baker.
with Pure Clean in South Asheville location. Kelly, thanks so much for taking time to talk to us today. So tell us, give us a quick overview. This is something we ask everyone. Just give us a quick overview of what you do with Pure Clean and how long Pure Clean has been here. All right. Thank you for having me. I love this office. I'm so excited to be here. So a little bit about Pure Clean and how we got started. This is a, ⁓ it's basically the paramedics of
Damage so if there is an emergency situation, we want to be your first call and help you in any situation whether it's water mold fire or even biohazard damage ⁓ Biohazard, what would that mean? So think of a school or ⁓ More commercial Not necessarily or you have estate situations where someone has got it. Yep ⁓
So a little interesting there. Didn't think about that before we got in the business, but it happens every day. my gosh. And you don't know who to call. I mean, do you know who to call right now if something like that was to happen? 911. Right. Right. So that's what we do. We... That's horrible. Sorry. I know. I know. But that's part of it. Yeah. Wow. That somebody's got to do it. And you've got to have somebody that has, you know...
Passion and empathy with the community to take care of things like that at a very, you know Empathetic matter. Yes ⁓ We just got an office here off Airport Road and the business has been around for 20 plus years there is corporate PuroClean and then it has its franchises We have a partner who has been in business for 28 years out of the Tri-Cities who has serviced this area
But we felt like Puro Clean as a whole is growing and we wanted to be part of that growth. So here we are. That's awesome. Yep. So how long have you been at this location or in the area? we're brand new. So we'll open our doors ⁓ November 1st. Wow, that's exciting. And we've been working on this for about six months. But we are ready to go. And like I said, our partners already service this area for a long time. So we have things in place to make things happen.
done a few claims so far. So our goal is just really to get infiltrated with the community, kind of share our mission statements and what we're about and help where we can. That's awesome. So if people still aren't tracking what you do, I would assume some of your competition would be like Serve Pro? Sure. That's kind of along those lines. Because people would know that.
Yeah. before I got in this business, I don't know that I would have known who to call because this doesn't happen every day. One of my jobs as the business development manager and partner is to kind of educate the community on who we are and what we do. For example, if you come home from vacation and your garage is flooded, who are you going to call, Ed? Ghostbusters. Right. Right. But before, I wouldn't have known who to call. Nope.
So we want to get out there and meet with our insurance agents, meet with our real estate marketers, ⁓ even plumbers, and let them know that we should be your first call. Because a lot of times consumers or the average day person may put in a claim online and that claim doesn't go to the office like a Serpro office because they're corporate at midnight. Nobody's going to come out at midnight. They're not going to see it till eight o'clock in the morning. This is the...
The biggest difference in the two of us is you're gonna call me at midnight and I'm gonna have somebody there within two hours. To help clean it 24-7. 24-7, seven days a week. That's impressive. So if somebody is listening to us and has that problem, I'll put a plug in for you real fast. It's pureclean.com, P-U-R-O-C-L-E-A-N.com, and then you search for the South Asheville location. Or you can call the 828-974-8408 number.
You're super good at this, Ed. I'm trying. Absolutely. So have did you grow up in the area or you're from the area? I am close to growing up in the area. I grew up in Johnson City, Tennessee, Tennessee. Yes, I forget that we're not everybody's from here. So so you're Rocky Top fan. 100 percent. OK, go Vols and go Bucks. I went to ETSU and cheered there briefly. My husband went to Western North Carolina. So
You know, we're, in the Western North Carolina area. also from Johnson City? He is from Gastonia, like, ⁓ High Shoals area in North Carolina. We met in Charlotte. So let's see. I'm from Johnson City, but I lived in Kentucky and Charlotte and now here. Wow. And where's your favorite place to live? ⁓ here. 100%. Mills River, High Vista. Is that where you are? That's a great area. Favorite place on earth.
favorite place. Mills River is great and it's exploding. It is. is. I think they need more. Well, when I say this, they need more commercial though. And I think they're working on it. We need more restaurants. Yes. That's what I was about to say. ⁓ yeah, those are lacking. Yeah. There's plenty of breweries. Yeah. Grocery stores are coming. Now the food trucks that they've moved into the area are phenomenal. I just had one the other night. I can't think of the name of it.
That would have been a good plug for them too, because it was the best grilled cheese sandwich I ever had in my life. Wow. so gooey. Is that their specialty or that's just what you chose? that their specialty is like these dumplings. ⁓ Man, after we get done, we'll have to plug them later. They were good. My wife found one. It's greasy spoon wagon or something like that that had dumplings and she loved it. Well, since we're talking about food, then.
Just tell me one of the popular questions is, uh, what are your top three favorite restaurants to go to? Or if you have people visiting in town, where do you go? Okay. we like to eat. Obviously we love Asian food, but I will say there is a lack of Asian food in this area. True. For sure. Um, if we have guests in town who's never been here before, we definitely visit Sierra Nevada because one, the atmosphere is beautiful. It's good for kids.
their wings are out of this world. But we can't frequent that too much because you get, you know, tired of the same food. So that's number one. For date nights, like Brian and I going out to a nice dinner, Corner Kitchen. Oh, in Astro? The Chestnut, which is owned by the same folks. are our two favorite go-tos. Corner Kitchen just opened back up. I heard. And then...
Gosh, you know, the one thing we haven't chestnuts downtown in case Asheville in case people are wondering. Yeah. ⁓ I mean sushi downtown Hendersonville. That's, that's the third for sure. That's our three go-tos. Well, I can't, gosh, some people in our family like Asian and they like Chompas in Hendersonville. I've not been there on main street and Boonchu out on upper road. ⁓ those are
and Thai spice. are some. Oh, I like Thai spice. Yes. I sometimes just go there for lunch. They probably think I'm crazy all the time. I just sit by myself and eat lunch there. Chompas is actually very good. OK. On Main Street. There's one in Brevard that's really good too. But I can't think of their name off the top of my head. Not far from here. So before Puro Clean, since that's new. you do anything exciting? Oh, yes, Ed.
I've had quite the career. ⁓ How far are you able to tell us some highlights of that career? far do you want to go back? So let's just, let me see if I can condense this a little bit. So right out of college, I went straight to NASCAR, worked in NASCAR for a little while. Wow. Worked at Kentucky Speedway and then worked for an advertising agency where we took the marketing part of NASCAR to country music. Napa auto parts was one of my clients and we took, ⁓
their brand to Alan Jackson's tour. So I did that for a couple years and then local marketing for the next 10, 15 years. And then we were in Asheville one day playing golf. Me and my husband loved to play golf. And we were like, man, I wonder why nobody's bought these Napa stores in Asheville. It's so pretty here. And Brian at the time was working for Napa Auto Parts Corporate. I had done Napa advertising for 15 years.
And we said, let's buy those stores. So we did. That was in March and we moved here in December. Caroline was just a year old. So that was 10 years ago. And then flying in and out of Asheville became challenging at the time. If you think back 10 years ago and trying to fly to Asheville, was very limited.
And so I had to shift career goals because I couldn't travel all over the country and do marketing. So I got into automotive and by automotive I mean auto trader, Kelly Blue Book, did some Capital One financing, advertising for auto dealerships. So I know all your auto dealerships in the area. I love them all. We've got a great group of good leaders in that industry here that taught me a lot.
That's what I did before I got into PuraClean. So that was a very short, condensed. Yeah, it was. Do you still have Napa auto parts? We do not. During COVID, it got a little crazy. So we got out, but just, you know, just happened to be around and be, you know, still close with those folks is all we needed. Do you know anything about cars? Oh yeah. Oh wow. Yeah, I know quite a bit. Prior to joining them?
yeah, because I advertise, I mean, I was on the national campaign team. So trying to get consumers to buy auto parts was a very hard feat ⁓ in the advertising industry. So, ⁓ yeah, I learned quite a bit. I don't know that I would change my own oil, ⁓ but, I know what spark plugs are and, know, I know a little bit about everything, and breaks and I try not to, ⁓ I just.
find a local place I like and trust them. Yeah, well that's important too. I mean that was a big part of our business. So the auto care centers out there, they have a big feat as well, trying to get consumers to trust them. So didn't they used to have a theme song or some? Napa know how. Is that what it is? Did that release when you were there? huh. Were you part of that? I was. That's exciting. Yeah. But you can't...
There's probably some disclosure statement. can't say anything else. All right. We'll move on. Sorry. So back to PuroClean. Yes. You've had some jobs already. That's exciting. So a friend of mine reached out and he was like, ⁓ he had been in the industry for, you know, 20 plus years. He was like, think you and Brown would really enjoy this industry and it's, moving. It's, it's growing. They want to expand. ⁓
to 500 locations, which they've already reached that from a national level. They want to get to 750. ⁓ And having that comparison of a Napa franchise to a PiroClean franchise, we knew what we were looking at. And ⁓ our partner, Donnie, had ⁓ kind of opened up what all that looked like. And Brian looked at it he was like, this looks a lot different than a Napa Autoparts P &L. ⁓ And then we started looking at
what the franchise ⁓ offers as far as resources go. And they have a ton of training. They really set you up to be successful. It's very rare that any of these franchises have failed. ⁓ They have, you know, a good motto. really believe in their franchise owners. They work for their franchise owners. There's two guys out of Michigan who own Puro Clean that also own a larger
corporation that kind of takes care of the big corporation. ⁓
Like if you had a big government project or complex that had like specialty marble that need to be dry out, they're attached to them. So it's a good partnership for them to pass along to their local franchises. It's a really neat company. Two great guys, smart guys. We don't have time to go into their history, but definitely look them up. So it sounds like you're a great resource, not only for locals who...
need help but even somebody who's considering a franchise in another part of the country. Oh 100%. a lot to offer. Yeah. That's interesting. It's um I'm really surprised by the amount of resources they have available and great people. Great people. Well that's exciting. I wish you all much success. Um so any any crazy stories with the job you've had so far?
Or what's your biggest fear of potential jobs? don't have time for all those crazy stories. I'm going to have to come fear would obviously be the biohazard. Yeah, I haven't seen anything crazy yet. I'm sure I will. I would quit. Sorry. Literally, somebody asked me to I will share this. You know, when Helene happened, we were both working in different industries and we were just kind of numb.
We couldn't help anybody or do anything. We didn't know what to do. And when we started talking about this business, I was like, what a wonderful thing to be a part of, to be able to help somebody in need and that be your job. ⁓ know, so it kind of at this age of life and career, you get to the point where you have done a lot, but to do something that's meaningful and
to give back to your community and work in your community. ⁓ You and I just sat there on ⁓ Tuesday or Wednesday and we heard of ⁓ a lady friend of ours that needed some assistance and it broke my heart. Like, yeah, we're gonna help her. We're gonna get that taken care of right now. Yeah, it's a year out from Helene and the damage she still has at her home. Yeah, so I think that's exciting. I'm still looking for people to help us.
be a part of that passion. You know, we're looking for technicians every day. So if you know anybody, Ed, that's passionate about helping people or helping their community, certainly pass them along. How do they get in touch with you? That number? Yes, just call that number. 828-974-8408. I feel like I'm like a fundraiser or something. I like it. I like it. That's what you got to do. That's part of advertising. got to it three times. We got to get it in there one more time. Yep.
You know, I think that's going to be. Could you tell my wife that? Because I think if she hears me repeat one thing in the name of advertising, she thinks it's too much. Right. Pushy. No, baby, this is you have to remind people. We're all too busy to remember anything. Well, it is. mean, with technology, you you should get hit on all faucets for sure. But yeah. So you're still looking for technicians. We are every day. We're looking not just for technicians, but for people who have a passion to help people.
I could hire anybody off the streets tomorrow, but I want someone who's gonna stay around and be loyal and be sympathetic to our customers, handle their stuff with care, because it's a very hard time for people when they have a house that's burnt down or they've had a flood and they've lost all their valuables ⁓ or mold has creeped in and they just don't have the physical ability to take care of it themselves.
So these are very touching times in someone's life and it maybe only happens once in their life and hopefully it doesn't happen at all. But you've got to come to the table with a little bit of empathy, right? Absolutely. That's challenging because yeah, if you don't have the empathy, then a bad review can, that affects you big time, unfortunately. Exactly. we're very careful on who we're looking for. It's not me.
Oh yes it is. happy to promote. I've already met your family and they seem like the best people on earth. That's kind but if there's a biohazard we're not the team to call. That's all I'll say. We are. Make sure you call Pure Clean. Pure Clean and that number is 828-974-8408. Also at pureclean.com and look for the South Asheville location. I love it. I love it. Good. So I didn't ask if you have friends visit
Do you have any special places you'd like to recommend? You must go see, must go do. So Brian and I are huge golfers. And most of the time, if our friends are coming over, I like to show them a new golf course. We recently, living in High Vista over the last couple of years, have revamped our golf course with a new name, new investments, and it's become a real fun treat to see that.
golf course, just do a 360. That's good. Cause it was failing. It was, it was. And there's a crazy story behind that. It's, it's weird how it's all infiltrated, but a finance company owned the golf course and really and truly the heart and soul of the neighborhood come in and put their time and sweat equity into rebuilding that course for no money. I mean, they dug up pumps and
cut trees and fixed water pumps in the creeks and cut back woods. mean, all with their own blood, sweat and tears. so we convinced the finance company that, we're not going anywhere. We want this to be successful. And we rebranded the course. I did the logo for the course. It's really cute. It's got a little bear and a falcon on it. Yeah. Does that mean it's open to?
non-residents? It is. It has been public for a while now, especially since Helene because we didn't get any damage much to the golf course, but we like to bring people home to our golf course. Nice. And we're not big hikers, which we should be. I'm not a hiker or a camper. I want to be. I feel you. But that's just not my thing.
I don't like bugs and heat and humidity. Get my feet wet. Now we did go to, ⁓ sliding rock this summer, which we haven't been before. And the kids had never seen that. That was super fun to see cold as ice. in the 90 degree weather, it was cold as ice. But you know, we're golfers. We like to shop. We like to eat. So you can find me at a restaurant or at the pool.
you know, they're playing golf. There is a pool at High Vista. Sorry I had to think about that when you said that. Yeah. It's a nice pool. And we have a pub, a little restaurant. It's a great place to live. You don't have to leave if you don't want to. Always forget about it honestly when people ask about areas and the places to live. and we have great neighbors. Like we just had a fall festival the other day and all the kids came out. We had face painting and bounce houses and
I personally wanted to do Bobbin for Apples, but you know, you can't really do that anymore. It's a little germy, guess. ⁓ yeah. That's interesting. Yeah. mean, we didn't we didn't worry about that when we were kids. No, I never did it, but I didn't worry about it. I totally did it. Yeah. Stuck my whole face in there. Just drowned it. Wow. Like a dog. I'm a germaphobe. So, okay. That makes no. Yeah. Unless I was the first one.
Definitely makes sense with the biohazard situation. See? Yeah. If I did the apple thing, I'd be putting my head in the water, bubbling water. That's probably not best for the podcast. Yeah, it's okay. All right. Well, thank you, Kelly, very much. I think you've answered all of our questions. So we need to plug PuroClean. That's it? That's all we got. South Asheville. You and Brian. Look forward to meeting Brian one day. And if people have a biohazard need, flooding, fire.
Heck, mold. Call puroclean.com. P-U-R-O-C-L-E-A-N.com. And you can call the number local 828-974-8408. I might have that memorized by now. I like it. Well, tell all your friends. Absolutely. And we're here to help. Awesome. Thank you, Kelly. Thank you. And you all for listening and watching. Keep living local.