Hendersonville Times-News gets snookered in topless bar story hoax

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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It looks like the Hendersonville Times-News got snookered into writing a story about a proposed topless bar in Hendo that was never actually planned. Here, I’ll let the newspaper explain. I guess this follow-up story serves as a correction. This story is by staff writer Leigh Kelley. I don’t see the original story on the newspaper’s web site, but here’s a link to the comments on the story:

A man who told the Times-News he planned to open a topless bar in Hendersonville said a week later that the idea was a hoax.

Kevin Foster sent a letter to the editor on Dec. 8 saying he owned property at 802 Spartanburg Highway in Hendersonville and was “in the process of finding out what I will have to go through in order to open an adult topless bar.”

The owner of the building is Kevin Foster’s mother, Tina Foster, according to records with the Henderson County Inspections Department.

After Foster’s letter to the editor was received on Dec. 8, an editor assigned a reporter to look into the story.

The reporter contacted Foster on Tuesday at a telephone number provided in the letter and left a message. The reporter telephoned Foster again on Wednesday morning and a man identifying himself as Foster answered the phone. In an interview, Foster said he had researched the idea of an adult entertainment business and was ready to begin construction work.

…

After the story was posted on BlueRidgeNow.com, the Times-News’s Web site, Billy Ricker, the boyfriend of Foster’s mother, called the Times-News and said there were no such plans for the space at 802 Spartanburg Highway.

Foster failed to show up at a meeting he had agreed to with the reporter. When reached by phone, Foster said he made up the story. He then told the reporter that he made up the story to “see how fast the liberal left media” would respond.