Jeep Invasion floods downtown businesses
The thousands of people who attend the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival don’t just bring their vehicles; they always bring their wallets and an appetites for local Butler cuisine.
Vince Tavolario, owner of Natili North, has seen this proven for all of the 11 years of the festival, and is preparing the restaurant staff for the June 10 crowd.
“I've seen people from all over the country — Michigan, California, Ohio, Florida,” Tavolario said. “Everybody I talk to loves the restaurants, the people, they're excited that they do this here.”
The Jeep invasion is scheduled to take place from 6 to 10 p.m. June 10, when thousands of Jeeps will be parked on Main Street and its byways in recognition of the birthplace of the vehicle.
Patty Jo Lambert, event organizer of the Bantam Jeep Festival, said there are about 2,300 Jeeps registered to attend the invasion, and the organizers expect at least 100 more to register on the day of the event.
Lambert also said the invasion this year is not a parade, but a street party-type event where Jeeps will be parked. So far, registration is down from last year, but that was anticipated by the organizers.
“We're having a good mix between 2019 and 2021,” Lambert said. “The Jeep invasion is the street party. It is just a standard invasion.”
According to Robert O’Neill, chief of the Butler Bureau of Police, officers will begin closing roads at 2 p.m. June 10, including Main, Jefferson, Cunningham and Pearl streets. Police will detour traffic heading north and south on Main Street starting at 3:30 p.m., O’Neill said.
O’Neill also said the bureau will have 19 officers including himself working during the invasion. While closing Main Street can be inconvenient for some travelers, O’Neill said people are generally cooperative with the detours.
“We always have a really good response,” he said. “We rarely have trouble with anyone from the Jeep festival, it's usually people moving through town who have trouble.”
Tavolario, too, said he has good experiences with visitors and locals who hit downtown Butler for the Jeep invasion. The influx thousands of visitors to downtown makes for a positive — and somewhat hectic — impact on businesses.
“It's a great thing, it is terrific for all businesses downtown,” Tavolario said. “Anytime you bring people downtown is a good thing. We enjoy people that have never been there before, they always seem to really enjoy the pizza.”
Lambert said she is happy to see businesses benefit from the Jeep invasion.
“It's just great to see some of the businesses jumping in on Jeep excitement and grouping up on Jeep promotion,” she said.
Jimmy Chiprean, owner of Miller’s Shoes, also said the invasion and the ensuing weekend is busy for his non-restaurant business as well. However, he is happy to be a stopping place for visitors.
“It's so exciting to be engaged with the community on an event this big,” Chiprean said. “It's definitely a bonus for the city to showcase our shops and restaurants.”
Barry Cummings, owner of Cummings Coffee and Candy, said the cafe stays open later than usual for the invasion, which pays off thanks to the amount of people who come through interested in the vintage decor.
“We expect to be pretty darn steady,” he said. “It's great to be a part of this, thankfully. We definitely benefit from (the festival’s) organization.”
Lambert said she is happy that businesses cooperate to keep visitors of the Jeep festival entertained, but the event is a collaboration with many parties.
“It takes hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of volunteers,” Lambert said, “lots of cooperation between the city and the county, mayor, police, PennDOT. So it's wonderful to have support from them all.”
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