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Fire trucks, marching bands, local politicians and even some union members made their way down Main Street on Monday for Louisville’s 87th annual Labor Day Parade.

Atman Hanel, who co-owns The Waterloo restaurant along Main Street, started passing out free, frozen Otter Pops to parade goers early Monday morning.

The ice-cold treat was fitting as immediately before the start of the Labor Day Parade was the Children’s Pet Parade, which made its way down Main Street right in front of Hanel’s business.

“Honestly, it’s the kids and the pets,” Hanel replied when asked what his favorite part of the day had been. “If you’re going to come out here at 8:30 in the morning with your dog, cat, lizard or whatever and walk down the street in this heat, you deserve something.”

Louisville resident John Obrecht and his family were a few of the many people who participated in the Children’s Pet Parade. Obrecht wheeled his 14-year-old cat, Aragon, in a spacious wagon down the parade route before taking a break to relax in the shade.

“It was kind of funny pulling him through the pet parade. (Aragon) slept the whole thing while we were pulling him,” Obrecht said. “Everything is family friendly. … That’s what we do here.”

Countless people lined Main Street in the heart of downtown Louisville as the Labor Day Parade, itself, kicked off at 10 a.m.

The parade started at the intersection of East Lafayette Street and Main Street and proceeded south before concluding at the intersection of Main Street and Parkview Avenue.

Several current politicians as well as candidates for local office shaked hands with parade goers in hopes of securing their votes at the ballot box.

The sound of marching bands including those from Centaurus High School in Lafayette and Monarch High School in Louisville also reverberated throughout downtown.

Dylan Mines, who is one of Centaurus High School’s drum majors, said that he was having too good of a time Monday to have been fazed by the warmer temperatures.

“It’s a lot of fun doing this every year,” Mines said at the conclusion of Monday’s parade route. “You get to interact with people in the community.”

Following the Labor Day parade, people headed over to Louisville’s Fall Festival at Memory Square Park where they enjoyed more music and plenty of food.

“It’s really awesome to see the community and see the support,” Sloane Weiss, who is another drum major at Centaurus High School, said. “I’m so grateful for it.”

A Louisville-based health care supply chain company plans to give up more than 86,000 square feet of office space at its headquarters. Separately, the company is set to embrace an operational expansion to India.

While there will be no staff downsizing, the headquarters is too large for what has transformed into a fully hybrid tech company, said Chrystie Leonard, chief customer experience officer for Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX). The company's current headquarters, at 1315 W. Century Drive in Louisville, is up for sublease.

At the same time, GHX will follow in the footsteps of other major technology companies such as Google in establishing an operation in India called a global capability center. Such centers capitalize on tech-savvy offshore workforces to bolster research and development efforts.

GHX uses cloud-based software to connect hospitals and other providers with health care supplies. Following years of growth, GHX today processes about $260 billion in transactions between parties, Leonard said.

For the new global capability center, GHX plans to make use of a workspace in Hyderabad that was inherited in its 2022 acquisition of Tampa-based Syft, a supply chain management software company that integrates artificial intelligence.

The company plans to have more than 300 people working in Hyderabad by 2025, Leonard said. Currently, GHX has about 1,350 employees across the U.S.

GHX is hoping the India location will help to accelerate its technology, which should improve the customer experience and boost its bottom line, Leonard said. For example, one team will be dedicated to helping hospitals get a better understanding of their inventory prospects — what they have on hand, what is back-ordered, and how long it will take to get what they need.

"We're really solving that through automation, we want to make it so that it's touchless," Leonard said. "I will say we are expanding across all of our teams, across both operations and on the development side."

While GHX has an arguable stronghold on its market — the company counts more than 19,000 health care provider facilities and more than 15,000 supplier divisions that use its software — Leonard said there are opportunities to grow.

"If you think about today, we play mostly in the acute space, so kind of core hospitals," she said. "A lot of care is moving outside the hospital to non-acute location surgery centers, [ambulatory surgery centers], there's lots of other places."

About 300 people work for GHX in Colorado, Leonard said. Many employees moved during the pandemic, while others have settled into hybrid work routines, rendering the Louisville space too large.

Leonard said she is not yet sure what the new Colorado GHX space will look like but is looking for places where employees can still gather periodically. Regardless, she said GHX is intent on keeping its official headquarters in the Denver area.

Leonard said GHX has seen an uptick in productivity and employee satisfaction since allowing for the hybrid routine and is leaning in as a result.

"We don't feel like we're losing ground," Leonard said. "We actually feel like we're accelerating ground in terms of meeting our customer needs. We're gonna flex in that way to support [employees]."

2023 Denver-Area Manufacturing Firms

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A large label company with operations in Louisville is considering a local expansion.

Fort Dearborn Co., which combined with Multi-Color Corporation (MCC) in 2021, has outgrown its current operation at 5644 Shepherdsville Road. It is considering a new facility to increase manufacturing space, according to the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority.

It operates over 100 label producing operations in 29 countries for prominent brands across industries like food and beverage, home and personal care, wine and spirits, and more. The expansion comes after increased demand for its services, the filing said.

KEDFA preliminarily approved a 10-year incentive agreement with MCC to invest $22 million in Louisville. The incentive agreement is under the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based agreement can provide up to $1.4 million based on the company’s investment of $22 million and annual targets of:

The company has a presence in Clark, Jefferson, Todd and Warren counties in Kentucky. I’ve reached out to learn more about the expansion, and this story could be updated.

Louisville Business First previously reported Fort Dearborn Co. was based in Elk Grove, Illinois, and it had 20 locations nationwide. MCC, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, was established in 1916.

New York-based private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice acquired and combined the two companies in July 2021, LBF's sister publication Cincinnati Business Courier reported. MCC had nearly 9,000 employees in 70 locations at the time.

According to a news release from November 2021, the combination of Fort Dearborn Co. and MCC created the world’s largest prime label supplier by revenue. It had approximately $3 billion in annual revenue at the time.

Kentucky Business Investment Tax Credit Recipients — Preliminary approval

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According to a Facebook post from the popular barbecue restaurant, no one was "badly hurt."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After a vehicle crashed into Four Pegs Smokehouse and Bar in the Germantown neighborhood on Saturday night, some business owners say traffic changes on Goss Avenue are long overdue.

In a Facebook post from Four Pegs, the popular barbeque restaurant said the crash shifted the building's façade over so the front door can't open. Despite this, they still opened for Sunday brunch but customers had to use a side door to enter.

"We got “Magbarred” last night," a portion of their statement on Saturday said. "Please slow down on Goss y’all!"

Hali B & Co. posted on Instagram saying one car crashed into Four Pegs and one car "slammed" through the front yard of their business -- missing the building by a "few feet."

They said this accident, and "many" other accidents that they've witnessed, could've been avoided.

The beauty salon ended its post by saying:

"It is time now to protect not only drivers but also pedestrians and the surrounding businesses. Goss Ave has turned into a through way and needs to be addressed immediately. We are so thankful no one lost their lives last night in this horrific accident."

Sunday morning, Laura Neely, who owns 'The Post,' said the pizza restaurant said they had its own near-miss last week when a car pulling onto Goss lost control and crashed.

"If it wasn't for the crash-rated bollards that we installed," she said. "That car would have crashed into our patio and into the customers who were sitting there."

Neely told WHAS11 she'd like to see traffic safety measures taken, suggesting a stop light. However, Metro Councilwoman Jennifer Chappell (D-District 15) said that likely won't be the solution.

"We have had numerous studies done on Goss Avenue and they have told us nothing warrants a stop light or stop sign," she said.

Goss Avenue is a state road, so Chappell said KYTC has the final say on improvements. She added she is working with the city on an alternative plan for measures like a caution light, crosswalk and bump outs.

Credit: Four Pegs Smokehouse and Bar Facebook

"If we can make the lanes narrow, but also make it so its easier to cross the street, so it's not like Frogger every time you need to cross," she said.

A spokesperson for KYTC said the agency is working with Metro Government on traffic calming measures for the corridor and is currently in the "permitting portion of the design phase."

Chappell said Goss is just one example of a road needing a major safety facelift. In the bigger picture, she believes ongoing efforts to change street patterns will help too.

"Studies have shown when you reverse a street from a one-way to a two-way that it calms traffic and it's also beneficial to neighbors and businesses along those corridors," she said.

Chappell points out though that cars don't drive themselves. She said drivers need to stay alert and slow down.

"We can do all the traffic calming we want, but unless somebody obeys those, we're kind of stuck with people running into buildings," she said.

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While Deion Sanders and the University of Colorado have received all the national media attention, it is Jeff Brohm and the University of Louisville football program that sit atop the latest On3 2023 CFB Transfer Portal Rankings.

According to On3’s transfer portal rankings, which takes into account transfers both in and out, Louisville has jumped Colorado for the best portal job in college football this offseason.

: https://t.co/jJc8UD85q7 pic.twitter.com/iXiq8VWD5P

— Matt McGavic (@Matt_McGavic) May 26, 2023

Using a proprietary algorithm that assesses each team’s production during the transfer process, the On3 Team Transfer Portal Index has determined that the University of Louisville has improved its overall team talent by a greater margin than all other Division I football programs.

Louisville managed to steal the top spot from Colorado this week after securing commitments from Georgia State defensive lineman Jeffrey Clark, UNLV quarterback Harrison Bailey, and UCF wide receiver Joey Gatewood.

The Cards have commitments from four of the top 100 players in the transfer portal, according to On3. This includes wide receivers Jamari Thrash and Kevin Coleman, quarterback Brady Allen, and cornerback Storm Duck.

The Louisville football team also managed to land Texas A&M’s Marquis Groves-Killebrew and Georgia’s Marcus Washington, both of whom were four-star recruits and Top 20 cornerbacks in the 2022 class, as well as Oregon linebacker Keith Brown, who was the No. 1 recruit in his state back in 2021.

Despite losing many important pieces from last year’s team to the NFL Draft and the transfer portal (e.g., Malik Cunningham, YaYa Diaby, and Monty Montgomery), Jeff Brohm has managed to rebuild the roster and add some much-needed depth at key positions.

The Louisville football team will kick off the 2023 season against Georgia Tech on Friday, September 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

UofL currently has the fourth-best odds to win the ACC Championship, according to Against The Spread, and the Cards will look to take advantage of a softer-than-usual schedule that ranks 115 out of 133 FBS teams in terms of 2022 opponent winning percentage.

With the elite talent and immediate contributors he has added throughout the offseason, it is clear Jeff Brohm plans to get off to a strong start in his first season at the helm.

LOUISVILLE — Restaurant supplier Shamrock Foods Co. is opening a food warehouse in a Louisville building that formerly housed an Alfalfa’s Market Inc. grocery store.

The Arizona-based company confirmed the move this week after BizWest reported this month that it has applied to Louisville for a business assistance incentive package — essentially a reduction in taxes and fees — to help it set up shop at the 28,190-square-foot storefront at 785 E. South Boulder Road. That incentives offer was approved by the Louisville City Council.

“Shamrock Foodservice Warehouse is a one-stop solution for restaurant operators of all sizes. The stores are designed to complement Shamrock Foods’ Colorado foodservice distribution business by allowing existing customers to supplement their direct delivery orders with the professional foodservice brands they know and love,” the company said in a news release. “Open to the public and with no membership fees, the stores’ thousands of chef-approved products are also easily accessible to caterers, food trucks, home cooks, community organizations, schools and more.”

In a memo provided to Louisville officials, Shamrock said it hopes to have tenant improvements completed at the former Alfalfa’s by this winter, and its news release this week said the food warehouse is “tentatively scheduled to open in 2024.”

The company “estimates that the project will include $1.8 million in tenant finish improvements and an additional $10,000 in signage,” city documents said. “The company estimates that it will collect and remit $730,000 in new retail sales tax over the first five years of operation.”

Louisville leaders approved $321,338.25 in total incentives over five years. That total comes from 50% reductions in building permit fees and construction use tax and signage permit fees and taxes.

Because Shamrock will be taking over a vacant business, it will be eligible for a vacancy bonus incentive of $1 for each square foot of retail space. In this case, that total bonus would be $28,190.

To be eligible for any incentive, Shamrock would have to be operational by the end of 2024, city documents show.

Shamrock is opening another food warehouse in Aurora. Combined, the locations will employ 45 workers.

Alfalfa’s closed the Louisville grocery store in April 2021 amid a broader collapse of the grocery chain.

In the months leading up to the Louisville store closure, Alfalfa’s locations in Longmont and its flagship operation in Boulder were closing.

As those stores were closing, BizWest obtained internal documents showing that the company owed hundreds of vendors more than $4 million.

“Unfortunately, the challenges of this last year, coupled with existing weakness in the company’s financial health, leave us no choice but to dissolve the company,” the company said in 2021.

This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2023 BizWest Media LLC.

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Central Bank remains focused on supporting the financial lives of consumers and businesses throughout Kentucky. A Kentucky-based community bank, Central Bank was founded in 1946 by Garvice D. Kincaid. Mr. Kincaid founded the bank on the idea that banks can and should be pillars of their communities – in good times and bad. Keeping this core principle at the forefront of everything they do, Central Bank has grown significantly from humble beginnings on the corner of Short and Upper streets in downtown Lexington.Today, Central Bank operates 28 full-service banking centers throughout Central Kentucky, Louisville and Northern Kentucky, and they are considered a community fixture in Berea, Crestview Hills, Florence, Ft. Mitchell, Georgetown, Lexington, Louisville, Nicholasville, Richmond, Union and Winchester. In Louisville, Central Bank has four locations, with banking centers at Waterfront Plaza, Hurstbourne, Taylorsville Road and Outer Loop. Louisville Market President, Mark Wheeler, has been with Central Bank since 2015. After Central Bank was recently named one of the Best Places to Work in Kentucky by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce for the 16th time, Mark was asked about what sets Central Bank apart from the other banking experiences he’s had throughout his more than 42 years in banking. “In my time in the banking industry, I have never experienced a sense of community quite like I have at Central Bank,” Mark explained, “The culture here lends itself to a collaborative environment, and that atmosphere allows us to put our customers first, to get to know them, and to serve them better as a result.” Mark did note that while consumers are looking for more digital options, their appetite for relationship banking and face to face interaction is also growing. He cited the incomparable value of having a person, especially one who knows you, to call when a major life event occurs or something goes wrong. “And that is where we excel,” Mark continued, “Our customers have come to know that as fellow community members, we have a vested interest in helping support their financial success.”That’s not to say Central Bank has discounted technology. In just the last year, their Operations team completed two major projects to enhance digital offerings for their customers through an upgraded mobile app and a new online application experience for deposit account openings. According to Mark, they aim to be “big enough to handle anything, but small enough to care”. He believes the bank’s team of Central Bankers underscore this goal on a daily basis and said, “With their support and hard work, I have no doubt we will continue the legacy we’ve been upholding since we opened our doors more than 77 years ago.” About Central BankRooted in the community since 1946, Central Bank remains dedicated to serving the people and businesses in the areas we call home. We are here, as always, with local customer service and support, as well as online, mobile and phone banking services available twenty-four hours a day. Our trusted local professionals are here to help you thrive. To learn more about how we can be Central to you, contact a banker, visit us at centralbank.com, or stop by one of our 28 convenient banking centers. Member FDIC.Press ContactFor inquiries, please contact Christine Whalen at 859-253-6348 or [email protected]

A local sporting goods company, which was among Louisville's fastest-growing companies last year, has filed for bankruptcy.

Guardian Baseball, headquartered at 3300 Ruckriegel Parkway, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Kentucky on Aug. 3. Chapter 11 protection enables a business to restructure its creditor obligations to keep the business alive and pay back its debts over time.

According to the filing, the e-commerce baseball and softball equipment retailer has between $500,000 and $1 million in assets, and liabilities between $1 million and $10 million. Its largest creditors are Elan-Polo ($256,947), American Express ($155,696), Capital One ($139,784), Stinger Bat ($130,460) and Amer Sports ($119,585).

Guardian Baseball, founded by Zev Bernard, president and Matt Kubancik, CEO, was No. 4 on Louisville Business First's Fast 50 list in 2022. It reported nearly 1,000% three-year revenue growth, growing from $455,000 in revenue in 2019 to $5 million in 2021.

In its Fast 50 profile, the founders said Guardian Baseball got its start as an Amazon-only company, before gaining traction by investing in its own brand. The founders expressed their desire for the company to be disruptive in the baseball equipment industry.

"Many of the long-running brands are stale when it comes to marketing and performance, riding their brand-name alone," they said in November 2022. "In that way, we aim to be a speedboat in a sea of Titanics, able to navigate, experiment and out-perform the rest of the brands by using new-age tactics and strategy.

"From our loyalty club to our NIL [name, image, likeness] influencer athlete team and even buying-guide content, we’re doing a lot of big things that the established brands are not. We want to establish ourselves as the NIL-athlete thought leaders."

In addition to Bernard and Kubancik, Major League Baseball veteran Matt Joyce has an ownership stake in Guardian Baseball.

I've reached out to the company, as well as its attorney, Charity Bird of Louisville-based Kaplan Johnson Abate & Bird LLP, about the filing. This story could be updated.

Fast 50: Louisville's fastest-growing private companies

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What began in a Louisville basement more than 50 years ago will soon be landing on the moon.

Representatives from Lockheed Martin Space visited Louisville-based S&S Tool and Machine Co. on Wednesday to honor the company for its work on NASA’s unmanned Artemis I spacecraft Orion.

S&S manufactured more than 450 components for Orion, which launched Nov. 16 and orbited the moon for 25 days, traveling 1.4 million miles.

The company also made parts for the Artemis II spacecraft, which has been assembled and will take a four-person crew around the moon and back to Earth over nine days next year. Artemis III will launch in 2025 with the goal of landing two humans on the moon with help from components made at S&S.

So far, S&S has made more than 4,000 titanium, aluminum and plastic parts for Artemis missions, which are expected to continue for decades as NASA establishes a long-term presence on the moon and eventually sends astronauts to Mars.

Matt Cox, Lockheed’s (NYSE: LMT) systems engineering director for Orion, said the North Bethesda, Maryland company chooses S&S to manufacture some of the spacecraft’s most detailed components.

“[Lockheed uses S&S because of] their unique precision capability. We send the parts here that require the tighter tolerances and highest performance,” Cox said. “Part of what this program has been able to do is make sure that there’s shops in every state within the United States that are part of the Orion program. S&S is a great fit for that ... very agile and they work well with us.”

Founded in 1967 in the basement of Charles and Caroll Siegel's home, S&S manufactures precision gages, fixtures and single pieces for the aerospace, defense, appliance and automotive industries. Today, the company has four facilities across Louisville and Russell Springs, Kentucky, employing about 70 people.

Chief Operating Officer Fred Siegel said S&S takes pride in making parts other machine shops won’t — or can’t. When meeting with a prospective customer, Siegel said he asks to make the most complex component the customer needs first to prove S&S can manufacture anything else they need as well. That strategy has only gotten him in trouble a couple times, he said.

Lockheed, which contracts with NASA and the U.S. Military, is one of S&S’s largest customers, Siegel said, having made parts for the global security and aerospace giant since the early 1980s, including the Space Shuttle program.

The company generated $66 billion in revenue last year, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, and employs more than 110,000 people around the world. Lockheed’s current NASA contract runs through Artemis VII.

S&S has also made components for Black Hawk Helicopters and various military weapons, but the company often doesn’t know what they’re actually making. S&S Plant Manager Rick Hornek said Lockheed sends the company plans for a part with a generic title, but typically can’t disclose what it’s used for due to national security concerns.

On Wednesday, Cox told S&S employees that most the parts they made for Orion were used for the craft’s three hatches, which he called the most important parts of the ship because they secure astronauts inside, safe from harsh elements. S&S also manufactured brackets that held Orion’s two outer cameras and captured photos of the moon, Earth and stars.

Siegel said he feels pride when he sees parts made inside his parent’s machine shop being used in outer space — a feeling that peaked when he was invited to Orion’s launch in Florida last year.

“We were in a group that was invited for the unveiling … and they were all key people in building the structure,” Siegel said. “[A Lockheed official] noticed my shirt and he came up and said, ‘Oh, S&S Tool. Wow, I want to talk to you.’ I was standing in a group of people that would have a shirt that read 3M, Eaton Hydraulics, Jet Propulsion Laboratories — the biggest companies in the world.

"I look down at my shirt and I see S&S Tool. Who in the heck knows who that is?”

Louisville's Largest Manufacturing Firms

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A local online retailer is expanding its operation with a new Shelby Park headquarters.

Misc. Goods Co. has plans to move to a new 4,152-square-foot building at 1133 S. Shelby St., owner Tyler Deeb said. He hopes to be moved in around June.

The company was founded in 2012 following a successful Kickstarter campaign to back a reimagined deck of playing cards, a news release said. Deeb said in an interview the company has since expanded its product offerings, releasing a fragrance line, wallets, flasks and more.

“I had no idea what I was doing 10 years ago when I began designing a deck of playing cards,” Deeb said in the release. “We had an unbelievable community of people help us launch, and to be opening our new headquarters this month feels so surreal.”

The premium lifestyle brand has expanded to more than 25 products with almost 100 variations. Misc. Goods Co.’s products are sold online and through wholesale partners across the world, the release said.

The new office will provide space for design and production. It will also include space to host community events and a showroom for Louisvillians and visitors to access the complete product line.

The company currently operates out of a space at 1001 E. Saint Catherine St. The release said the company’s growth is what fueled the decision to move.

Deeb declined to disclose the investment into the renovation but said it will be a major overhaul. That was one of the reasons the company chose that spot.

“We decided on this [building] for a lot of reasons,” Deeb said. “One of which is it’s the right amount of space, but also an opportunity to redesign and restructure the whole architecture.”

The building is owned by Opportunity Louisville II LLC, managed by Bill Frey, Todd Underhill and Ben Butler. I’ve previously reported on some of the projects Opportunity Louisville II LLC has completed in Shelby Park, seizing the advantages of using opportunity zones.

The renovation consists of a full demo—all non-structural walls are being torn down, the preexisting plumbing will be replaced, and heating and cooling will receive an upgrade. Some of the biggest hurdles are redoing the roof and rebuilding the façade. Stockie Rhawn is the general contractor on the project.

The company did $1 million in revenue last year. Including Deeb, the company has six employees.

Deeb said he's happy to be back in the Shelby Park community, where he's lived for several years.

“We wouldn’t be where we are without the support of our Louisville community,” Deeb said in the release. “We've experienced great success connecting with our local customers through seasonal markets, pop-ups, and local retailers and are excited to have a permanent space to make more of these opportunities. I lived in the Shelby Park neighborhood for 11 years and am so excited to return to my old neighborhood and be a part of its revival and the new developments.”

Commercial Real Estate Brokers — Retail

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