CLEVELAND — At least 19 businesses sat in the dark over the Fourth of July weekend due to a 50+ hour-long power outage, losing thousands of dollars in inventory and revenue. The costly situation has now led Ohio City Inc. to ask for change.
RELATED: Cleveland restaurants out thousands due to 2-day power outage; city says it will not compensate
We spoke with a few businesses impacted this week, three of which are Proof Public House, Sacred Vortex Tea and Kombuchery, and Real Smoq'ed BBQ.
Each of those businesses is serviced through Cleveland Public Power.
At the start of the holiday weekend, the lights went out and didn't come back on for 52 hours, according to Ohio City Inc.
"We lost everything. Our coolers could not hold temp. They were out for 50 hours, 5-0," owner of Proof Public House, Matt Fish, said on Sunday. "We're talking about thousands and thousands of thousands of dollars worth of food that we had to throw out on top of the lost revenue that we had for, you know, well over a day and a half."
Real Smoq'ed BBQ told me via social media that it lost enough meat to feed 50 adult lions.
"What a waste," the business said.
The owner of the kombuchery, David Kovatch, said while power outages are not uncommon in their neighborhood, this was by far the worst.
"This has been the most devastating one," Kovatch said.
"I previously reached out to Cleveland Public Power for an explanation of the outage, and the utility issued the following statement:
We know how disruptive these outages were for businesses along the Lorain Avenue corridor, especially during a holiday weekend, and we recognize the frustration that comes with an extended loss of power. The outages affecting portions of the Lorain Avenue corridor were caused by storm-related damage following an extended period of extreme heat that had already placed significant strain on the electric system. The combination of sustained high temperatures and the evening storms on July 3 resulted in multiple outages across the city, including in this area.
With the thousands of dollars lost in revenue and product, I also asked Cleveland Public Power if there would be potential compensation.
"Regarding compensation, these outages resulted from weather-related impacts to the system. While we understand the challenges these interruptions created for residents and businesses, claims associated with events of this nature generally are not eligible for payment through the City’s claims process," a Cleveland Public Power spokesperson said. "What we can provide are outage verification letters upon request. Businesses and residents may submit these letters to their private insurance carriers if they choose to explore whether coverage is available through their own policies."
Ohio City Inc. Executive Director Jane Platten told me on Friday that the nonprofit is now putting the pressure on the city for a better, more flexible path forward.
"We have to figure this problem out," Platten said. "Let's face it, let's change it."
Ohio City Inc. sent a letter to Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb on July 14, explaining the need for programs that provide immediate financial assistance for situations like this.
"It's twofold. There's the immediate necessity for these small businesses who depend significantly on everyday business and sales, and so the short term is asking for the city to develop a financial safety net for businesses in the event these outages continue," Platten told me. "This isn't just about reimbursing businesses or restaurants because they were out of power on the fourth of July weekend in 2026. This is about that plus they were out of power multiple times in the prior years, recent years and months, and it's going to happen again. This is not something that is fixed right now, so until it gets fixed, they need some safety net."
Platten said she knows of at least one business that lost roughly $20,000 during the outage.
"It includes lost inventory, food, meat, and it is about lost business revenue coming from customers who go to their restaurants. The next step would be a more long term solution of fixing the problem. We know the infrastructure of CPP, Cleveland Public Power, is in dire need of an overhaul," Platten said.
Bibb's Chief of Staff, Ryan Puente, responded to Ohio City Inc.'s letter on Wednesday.
The city said it understands the magnitude of the loss businesses are facing, and therefore, is committed to an in-person conversation with key stakeholders and neighborhood businesses.
"We will convene a meeting with neighborhood businesses, Ohio City Inc. staff and board members, Cleveland Public Power representatives, Council representatives, and City staff to discuss the impacts of the outages, hear directly from those affected, and explore ways we can work together to support them as they recover," Puente wrote in the letter.
The city confirms a meeting has been scheduled for next week.
"This is a culmination of multiple instances, and this was the teachable moment. We don't ignore the fact that residents are struggling as well with these outages. They happened at the beginning of July. Folks had maybe just gotten their month's worth of medicine that needs to be refrigerated. Insulin is a big one," Platten said. "This is when the moment came along to say we have to figure this problem out and this is how we can do this and we can support those who are affected while they're fixing the problem."
She hopes the meeting will go well and that effective change will blossom from it.
"This is the right moment for change and we're willing to help facilitate community conversation in a reasonable and, you know, adult-like manner. This doesn't have to be meetings of screaming and yelling. Let's just set the path forward," Platten said.
