Local businesses ask for support after Thunder Over Louisville canceled

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Local businesses are already feeling the loss of revenue after the cancellation of Thunder Over Louisville.

The annual fireworks and airshow was preemptively canceled April 5, a week before the scheduled day, due to expected flooding. Louisville was hit this month by historic flooding as water levels caused school cancellations, road closures and power outages.

With the Ohio River still covering much of the Great Lawn at Waterfront Park Saturday, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the right decision was made.

"It's unfortunate that we had to cancel Thunder Over Louisville, it's obviously that we made the right call when we did that a week ago, and allowed people to plan accordingly for that," Greenberg said. "We certainly hate the impact it has on local businesses. I want to encourage everyone during the Kentucky Derby Festival, during Kentucky Derby weekend and then beyond to continue to support our local businesses and help them stay afloat during these challenging times."

The Kentucky Derby Festival estimated Thunder Over Louisville contributes for a $128 million economic impact. It's a huge loss of revenue for local businesses. Louisville Tourism said it expects to lose nearly $10 million from the cancellation.

Ramiro Gandara, owner of Ramiro's Cantina, said local businesses are struggling after missing out on a crowded weekend in Louisville.

"Thunder was their Christmas, Thunder was my Christmas. It's literally 5% of my business for the whole year, so imagine losing that money coming in, so we have to find it somewhere else," Gandara said.

Gandara encourages people to find ways to support local businesses and restaurants during Derby season.

But the loss in profits didn't stop Gandara from helping others on Saturday morning.

Ramiro's Cantina partnered with World Central Kitchen to provide 250 breakfasts and 200 lunches, all for free, to volunteers who helped clean up Waterfront Park.

"We all live here, we all live in Louisville, this is our city, this is our community and we should take care of it," Gandara said. "They're loving the food, they're helping us clean the Waterfront."

Ramiro's Cantina also provided 350 meals to Lawrenceburg on Friday.

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