City of Louisville Proves that No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Every once in a while, you’ll wade through the news clutter to find a story that restores your faith in humanity. One of those was happening right down the street from my house in Louisville, Kentucky. Unfortunately, that story does not have a happy ending.

Dung Tran brought some much-needed life to my Beechmont neighborhood when he opened The StrEatery Food Hall in a large vacant space on Woodlawn Avenue. The hall houses various food vendors, from chicken wings to the best sushi in Louisville. It’s one of those places that makes you say, “We should eat there more often.”

More importantly, The StrEatery has become a point of pride in my neighborhood. The small block of Woodlawn Ave has so much potential, yet businesses come and go, come and go, leaving empty storefronts as eyesores. The StrEatery brought some much-needed staying power to an area that needed it.

Just when you thought Tran’s StrEatery couldn’t be a better neighbor, he upped the ante during the snowstorms.

Ahead of the frozen squalls, the business shared on social media that it would become an emergency 24-hour shelter. Tran offered folks a place to warm up and a meal to help them catch their breath during the brutal winter weather.

Tran’s leadership inspired others around the community. People donated food, hats, gloves, and socks for people who needed to warm up during the frigid temperatures. Organizations that assist the homeless came to The StrEatery to provide their services. They helped two people go to rehab and got another a bus ticket home.

One person was ready to do their part and baked three pans of spaghetti to help The StrEatery feed people ahead of the second wave of snow. When they arrived, the Louisville Fire Department was kicking people out of the building.

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Louisville Believes Permits are More Important than People’s Welfare

The StrEatery was forced to close its emergency 24-hour shelter because it did not file for a permit with the city. Louisville Fire Captain Donovan Sims said in a news release that The StrEatery had to “discontinue use as an overnight emergency shelter until additional permits/approvals can be obtained from Codes & Regulations.”

In other words, the business could serve liquor to these people until 4 am, but they couldn’t let nine people stay warm and get some rest.

Craig Greenberg, read the room. Is this the Mayor’s fault? I don’t know, but the buck ultimately stops there.

You had a community leader who was going above and beyond to help the most vulnerable people in a neighborhood during the worst winter weather many people have ever seen. Instead of lifting him up as an example that we should all live by, you condemned him for not filing the right paperwork.

I think we all have enough sense to understand why these regulations exist. You can’t turn every sanitary restaurant into an overnight shelter. This is an open-air assembly hall providing a much-needed service during a time of crisis. Use your brains.

The city of Louisville markets itself as a compassionate city. Instead, they proved that no good deed goes unpunished. It’s shameful.