Taste of Italy Crawl brings food, music to downtown Butler
Businesses in downtown Butler provided passports to Italian heritage that many people appreciated Saturday during the Taste of Italy Crawl.
The daylong event was held to celebrate Italian heritage during the weekend when the Italian Festival has been held the past few years. A disagreement between the city and festival organizers led to the cancellation of the event, which had taken place since 2019.
“We heard the Italian Festival was canceled so we said let’s just do a Taste of Italy Crawl in place of the festival,” said Gretchen Heavner, co-owner of Totalus Cafe on Jefferson Street and organizer of the crawl.
The crawl started at Totalus, where guests could pick up passports listing 38 restaurants, businesses and vendors on Main and Jefferson streets who took part in the event. Guests who took the passport to all 38 places and returned it to Totalus were entered in a basket raffle.
Some of the participating restaurants prepared special foods for the crawl, and bands and live performers played at several businesses. The Penn Theater hosted an Italian trivia contest, a roaming accordion player and showed “The Godfather” movie.
“Everyone was so excited to be part of this,” Heavner said.
Holden Swink, who was working at the Natili North booth on Main Street, said the people he spoke with approved of the event.
“People seem happy we’re doing something for the Italian heritage,” Swink said.
Lisa and Jim Melton, who sat at a sidewalk table enjoying Natili’s cuisine, said they planned to stop at some of the businesses on the passport.
“Cummings (Candy and Coffee) is next, that’s for sure,” Jim said.
“I see a milkshake in my future,” Lisa said she enjoyed her cannoli.
Jay Fennell and Deanna Fee walk from their home on Penn Street to all the festivals and events that take place downtown. They were enjoying sausage sandwiches at Miller’s Quality Meats on Main Street on Saturday.
Fennell said he was disappointed the Italian Festival was canceled, but he went to the crawl to indulge in some Italian food. Natili’s was going to be their next stop. He said both establishments are mainstays in Butler.
Fee said the absence of the festival was a big loss for residents and businesses, but “at least they did something.”
Jim and Tom Perko, father and son owners of Miller’s Quality Meats, were making hot and sweet sausage sandwiches in a booth on the sidewalk in front of their butcher shop, which is operating online since a fire in January forced the closure of the store.
Tom, the son, said they are filling orders submitted online while working with their insurance company to temporarily open this year and permanently reopen in January 2025. He said he wishes the insurance process would move more quickly.
He said customers can place orders and get updates on the reopening on the store’s website, mqmllc.com.
“We’re very much looking forward to opening on Main Street,” Tom said.
People were happy to see activity at the shop Saturday, and he said he is glad to see a cultural event that didn’t involve closing Main Street. Main Street remained open during the crawl.
“Great day, great weather, phenomenal support from the community,” Tom said.
