LOUISVILLE, Ky. — While the Clifton neighborhood continues to grieve after a fatal explosion at the Givaudan Sense Colour plant, a local bar is lending a helping hand.
The massive explosion killed two of the company's employees, one of the victims was found dead, buried under rubble hours after the company said all employees were accounted for.
Surrounding homes and business were shaken, windows shattered, pieces of debris laying in yards, and uncertainty lingering while the neighborhood moves forward.
Spring Street Bar and Grill hosted a fundraiser Sunday to raise money for those impacted by the explosion.
From 11 a.m. Sunday to 4 a.m. Monday, the bar donated 10% of all the proceeds to those impacted.
"It blew stuff off the walls, and I'm surprised the windows didn't break, pretty scary stuff. And then once we realized that it wasn't something imminent in our property, we realized something even more kind of more catastrophic happened," said Spring Street Bar and Grill Managing Owner Ben West. "We're a member of the community, and we service the community, and we need to take care of the community when in there, in times of need."
Employees say the neighborhood is close, and they want to do what they can to help their neighbor.
"I know some of our distributors even were friends with the people that were injured during like the people that deliver our food, beer, etc, they have friends that were working there during the explosion and were hospitalized," said Line Cook Ruth Nistico. "Whether the company is still there or not, the neighborhood's gonna move forward. They're going to pick up the broken glass and help their neighbors, and that's what Clifton does."
West said they plan to meet with the Clifton Neighborhood Association to figure out how best to divvy up the money raised from the fundraiser.
► Contact weekend anchor/reporter Alex Dederer at adederer@whas11.com or on X.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, or visit our Facebook page or X feed.