Local
Louisville’s Stooges Bar and Grill closes for good after crash disruption
The Grade Lane business, which operated for 44 years and narrowly escaped the Nov. 4, 2025, UPS plane crash, says road-closure uncertainty and the loss of its 44 employees made reopening impossible. The bar had been closed since the crash.
Stooges Bar and Grill, a longtime Louisville gathering spot near the site of the UPS plane crash, will not reopen, its owners announced Oct. 14, 2026.
The bar on Grade Lane closed after the Nov. 4, 2025, crash. The owners said in a Facebook post that uncertainty over the continued road closure near the crash site, along with losing 44 employees, made reopening impossible.
“One of the hardest decisions I have had to make,” the post said.
The business had operated for 44 years. Its owners recalled community events including car-wash Thursdays, a slip-and-slide, micro wrestling and the Farm Show, and thanked customers for their support.
Stooges was only steps from the crash site, and people at the bar witnessed the plane come down. Grade Lane remained restricted as of the announcement, according to the owners’ post.