Chimney Rock Village's Main Street, with RiverWatch Bar & Grill and its coffee house in front of the granite face of Chimney Rock

Nick Sottile and Bennett Phillips Win Chimney Rock Village Council Seats

Village Government — Chimney Rock, NC — November 3, 2026

File photo, April 2024: RiverWatch Bar & Grill via Google Maps

Chimney Rock Village has two new council members. With its single precinct reporting, unofficial results from the North Carolina State Board of Elections show Nicholas Sottile and W. Bennett Phillips winning the two open seats on the Village Council.

Chimney Rock Village Council (vote for two)

  • Nicholas Sottile: 43 (39.81%) — elected
  • W. Bennett Phillips: 36 (33.33%) — elected
  • Richard Duffy: 26 (24.07%)
  • Write-in votes: 3 (2.78%)

Phillips finished 10 votes ahead of Duffy for the second seat. More than half of Sottile's and Phillips' votes came on Election Day itself. The results are unofficial until Rutherford County's canvass at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13.

Two open seats

Neither seat had an incumbent on the ballot. Councilman Bruce Godzik could not run again because he no longer had an active residence in the village; his property was washed away in Hurricane Helene. Councilwoman April Schick did not file for re-election, according to WCAB News.

The new members will join Mayor Peter O'Leary, Mayor Pro Tem Buck Meliski and Councilman Patrick Warncke.

Nick Sottile

Sottile owns three village businesses: Chimney Rock Smokehouse, the Broad River Inn and Chimney Rock Adventure Golf. He and his wife, Kristen, are the innkeepers of the historic Broad River Inn, which Helene left with a badly damaged foundation, according to a GoFundMe campaign friends started in October 2024. WLOS photographed the inn in February during its post-Helene renovations.

He already has a seat at the village table: Sottile serves on the Village Planning Board. This was his second run for council. In November 2024 he drew 25 votes and fell short of a seat, according to The Digital Courier. Tonight he finished first.

Bennett Phillips

Phillips owns Hickory Nut Falls Family Campground on the Rocky Broad River, just past the village. He and his wife, Robin, moved to Chimney Rock in 1994 and have been part of the campground ever since. Robin's grandparents, Wayne and Jane Carriker, opened it in 1970, and Bennett and Robin bought it from the family in 2019. They run it with their daughters, Zoe, Maya and Ava.

Helene hit the campground hard. The couple evacuated campers and family before the flooding peaked. The office, the cabins and the bridge were gone, and Phillips estimated the river took 4 to 5 acres of land, along with every site and structure along the bank, he told The Daily Courier a year after the storm. The family got no insurance or FEMA help; a GoFundMe started by a longtime camper covered their bills while they rebuilt.

"We've missed seeing everyone hanging out by the campfires, swimming, fishing, and enjoying their families and the Village," Phillips said as the campground worked toward reopening. "Our campers love this river, the Village, and the area and they tell us they are anxious to get back."

What comes next

Sottile and Phillips will be sworn in once the county certifies the results.

Chimney Rock is still in the middle of its rebuild, with sewer and plaza repairs targeted for Memorial Day 2027, as we reported last month. Both winners are village business owners who watched Helene take ground out from under them and stayed to rebuild. They'll now help see the village's rebuild through. Congratulations to both, and thank you to Richard Duffy for running.

Sources

Last updated: 2026-11-03