Announced first as part of an interview on the Jennifer Hudson show, Brandon Davis and his husband, Davie, will reopen their popular LGBTQ+ and allied bar, DayTrip, at the site of another former bar known as The Malvern in March 2025.

On September 26, just as the impact of Hurricane Helene was realized, the couple could be seen in an Instagram reel tromping through mud and water that was almost knee deep inside Day Trip. Shocked and aggrieved, the couple took to social media to show their patrons the fate of the original location.

While the Davises slowly doubled up on clearing out parts of their building, as well as helped in the local community by taking in and distributing donations for those in need, a friend decided to try and help them in kind.

Meredith Sims started a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of both the business owners and the bar, setting an initial goal of $180,000, taking an estimation of both the couple’s life savings and the loans taken out to finance and establish the bar.

“They spent countless months and so much blood, sweat and tears renovating the space and realizing their dream of creating a cozy and quirky place for friends and neighbors to come and feel welcome,” she wrote on the fundraising page, which has since surpassed its goals. “It was that place for a sweet brief time.”

The gofundme page raised more than $200,000. The couple was able to pay back their loans, but also give parts of what was donated to other Asheville residents in need of help.

What had been a journey since the end of September after losing their original space, continued on the “Jennifer Hudson Show.” In a segment known as J Hud’s Heroes, the couple announced that they were going to be rebuilding their business.

In the last part of the segment, Davie Davis told Hudson about the developments underway.

“The bar where we’re doing our pop up [now]… we’ve actually bought into that bar,” Davie explained. “And that’s called the Malvern, which is what it used to be called. It’s a long-time institution, and we’re going to be bringing that back [with DayTrip].”

A follow-up Instagram post gives further details, marking the first week of December to be the start of a three-month pop up within The Malvern, called “DayTrip: Winter Vacation.” After that period, March is the goal for not only having The Malvern back up to full capacity, but DayTrip in its new permanent home by that point, as well.

Brandon Davis had one more thing to say at the end of their conversation with Hudson: “At our bars, both of our bars, it doesn’t matter if you are a queer person, if you are a trans person, if you are a person of color, if you are a woman, if you are someone who does not feel seen, we see you and you are welcome at our spot.”

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