Central Florida Zoo struggles to recover from COVID-19 losses, receives help from other businesses

Central Florida Zoo in need of help

Like many other businesses, the Central Florida Zoo has suffered from the coronavirus pandemic. The zoo lost an estimated $1.5 million in revenue when it had to close down from March to May.

SANFORD, Fla. - The Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Sanford is open but struggling to keep up with their bills and upkeep. Now, local businesses are stepping up to lend a hand.

"There’s no zoo without you." -- That’s the latest campaign slogan and plea with the public to keep the zoo up and running.

“It is very expensive,” Zoo Director Stephanie Williams said. “It’s about $450,000 a month.”

That comes out to about $15,000 a day to care for the 350 animals that call this zoo home.

MORE NEWS: US budget deficit hits all-time high of $864 billion in June

“All of that is the care of the animals, the food, the facilities, the staffing, the expertise that are needed to take care of all of the animals that we have on a daily basis,” Williams said. “It doesn’t stop if we’re closed.”

When they were closed from March to May, they missed out on the busiest time of year. Williams said they lost 1.5 million dollars. The loss is felt all over Sanford when businesses were forced to shut down during the stay-at-home order. But now that doors are back open, most are still struggling to recover.

Christina Hollerbach, the co-owner of Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café, explained that "if we lose a great asset like the Central Florida Zoo, it’s really gonna be hard to have a resurgence in our community after the pandemic."

In downtown Sanford, businesses like Hollerbach’s are working together to bring back customers. She told FOX 35 Orlando that "we’re going to be doing some charity nights where we donate proceeds from the evening to the zoo in an effort to keep them going."

MORE NEWS: 'Bars Are Essential': Volusia County bars sell to-go orders to help owners, workers get by

Another restaurant, Buster’s Bistro, is offering a fundraising bingo night and the West End Trading Co. is donating some of the proceeds from the purchase of a special order.

“We’re all in this together and we’re trying to support one another,” Williams said.

While the zoo’s funding remains critical, they are hopeful that help from the community will prevent this situation from becoming a life-threatening crisis.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Tune in to FOX 35 Orlando for the latest coronavirus news.