Main Street businesses decorate for the season, reflect on downtown community
Businesses and organizations help to bring holiday cheer along Main Street by decorating their locations, adding to the lights placed by Butler Downtown.
Businesses old and new joined in by decorating their interiors and setting up themed window displays. While some business decided to set up a Christmas tree, others, like Natili North, decided to decorate as much as possible.
Vince Tavolario, who has owned and operated Natili North since 1973, recently decorated for the 51st year in a row. Tavolario believes that in recent years, there has been a strong turnaround for Butler’s downtown.
“In the ’80s, when the Clearview Mall opened, Main Street became desolate,” Tavolario said. “Now, it feels like the opposite is true.”
When it comes to the decorations, Tavolario prides himself on his attention to detail. The process for decorating the restaurant took “six or seven hours” on a Sunday and was done mostly by Tavolario himself.
The older businesses downtown are not the only ones joining in on the festivities, however.
Tannin and Tonic by Porchvue Winery, which opened in July, is decorated for its first holiday season.
“It’s challenging,” store manager Shawn Bates said about decorating for the season. “You don’t want to outshine other people, but at the same time, you have to stand out.”
Bates believes that one of the strongest features of being on Main Street is the collaboration between businesses, including Vintage Coffee House, Downtown Bagel House, Grows on Main and Benjamin Beetle.
Peppers Flower Shop and Balloons also decorated for the season. Some of its most prominent decor included freehand snow spray art and a gingerbread house constructed from balloons.
Owner Crystal Damico, who purchased the business in May, felt that the decorations serve as a strong mix between community involvement and seasonal advertisement.
“It’s definitely fun,” she said, “being able to do different decorations. Then people are walking past and coming in and saying how nice everything looks.”
Damico said that she enjoys being involved in the community, specifically during events like the Spirit of Christmas parade.
“We actually offered hot chocolate to people. It’s nice to see different people coming in,” Damico added, “even if they don’t buy anything, and they’re just there to look.”
For Benjamin Beetle, a clothing store that has been located on Main Street for nearly a decade, decorations were a challenge, owner Ryan Bowser said, but he made sure to hang some garland around the store and set up a window display.
“I’d like to put together some more Christmas festivities, but we just didn’t get around to it this year,” Bowser said. “It’s been kind of a slow year for a lot of businesses downtown.”
If all goes well, Bowser already has plans for next year, including changing the theme of the store weekly, based on different Christmas icons.
“For example, one week we might do Santa, and the next we might do Krampus.”
Between the efforts of businesses and Butler Downtown, the entirety of Main Street has come together to create a glowing holiday aesthetic.
