Downtown Butler workers, shop owners say the city is becoming more active
In the past five years, downtown Butler has seen a fire that took out several businesses on one of its most visible blocks; new businesses stationing themselves on that same block; the reopening of a long dormant theater; and the continuation of annual events that have brought more people to Main Street.
As the county seat, the city of Butler always has had numerous businesses and organizations that cater to the working professionals who populate the city during the day, from lawyers’ offices to clothing shops to banking resources. Alongside those businesses are restaurants, a long-running art gallery, housing for senior citizens and several places to grab drinks in the morning and after hours.
According to Audrianna Bly, president of Butler Downtown, a nonprofit aimed at revitalizing the downtown area of the city, the active businesses of Main Street are kept afloat by the constant flow of commerce that comes from regular customers. As manager of SpringHill Suites just one block away from Main Street, Bly said she has seen a resurgence of foot traffic in the downtown area that is steady even when events aren’t taking place.
“There’s so many new businesses opening up … I just think everybody has been working very well together,” Bly said. “Every weekend, even if there’s not a big event going on, there’s still a lot of people downtown.
“A few years ago, that wasn't like that.”
Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy also said that while there is no “silver bullet” that will bring people back to downtown Butler, the opening of new businesses that have different hours and offerings helps give people a reason to visit. Dandoy said downtown commerce is the lifeblood of a city.
“We've had a few new businesses pop up, and that's always a plus, because not only is it providing residents with goods and amenities, but it's also providing income into the city for taxes and residents,” Dandoy said. “That provides more revenue to the city which provides more resources which attracts more people; it's that ripple effect, that momentum that builds.”
Elizabeth Smith, managing director of Hobnob Theatre Company, said that when the performance space opened at 134 Main St. in January, it got a lot of support from its neighbors. In the months since then, the positive relationships with other business owners has continued, according to Smith.
“One thing is how supportive all of the Main Street shops and businesses are when someone moves in,” Smith said. “We like to support each other on our social media pages; it's good to know that the businesses are all really supportive of each other.”
An outward demonstration of synergy within the Butler business community took place Aug. 24, when Totalus, a shop on East Jefferson Street, organized an Italian-themed crawl in place of the recently canceled Butler Italian Festival.
The business recruited other businesses in downtown Butler to stay open and stamp visitors’ “passports,” which would net them a reward if they visited all of the participating businesses.
Jen Shaffer, co-owner of Your Parent’s Basement, said even businesses that don’t serve food can benefit from participating in these events, because they could bring new faces into the building.
“Those types of events don't necessarily help us, but at the end of the day, we're excited about them because they make Butler more of a place to come,” she said. “It gives eyes on the downtown city. We're always happy to be a part of it.”
While the opening of more businesses downtown has led to increased traffic, events like the Taste of Italy Crawl, Foodie Fridays and their accompanying Moon Markets and Sips in the City have helped flood the streets with foot traffic. Bly said these events have helped spread the love between businesses, because people have reason to stick around town longer.
“We brought 400 people downtown back in May,” Bly said about Sips in the City.
Foodie Fridays in the summer continued the traffic.
“I think that just creates a lot of opportunity for people to come and visit more than one place.”
Peter Kupas, co-owner of Vintage Coffeehouse, said he has noticed people perusing one another’s shops since the Main Street coffee shop opened in May 2022.
Kupas also said support between businesses is one of the biggest perks of working in downtown Butler.
“A lot of the businesses frequent us and us them,” he said. “Just continuing to work together is just the biggest thing.”
Shaffer said that although the gaming and maker space opened less than two years ago, it has become popular with people young and old, and she regularly sees people in public who have visited the shop.
“The thing we say every time is Butler is a really wonderful place, it really is,” Shaffer said. “It's a very tight-knit community feel.”
Dandoy said the Penn Theater’s reopening is an asset to the city, because it is a large space that can host events as well as serve its original purpose as a movie theater.
Madison Beels, event manager at the Penn Theater, said the vintage movies the theater has been playing have been well attended, and the theater is catering its event plans based around feedback from people in the area.
“We’ve had a lot of traction on our website about what people want to see; we want their feedback,” Beels said.
Beels said the Penn Theater may show more contemporary movies from time to time, but right now, the vintage movies have been popular enough to prompt their continuance.
“We’re trying to play on the nostalgia of the theater, but we could get semi-new releases,” Beels said.
The Taste of Italy Crawl was a good harbinger of communications between businesses, but people in the downtown area said that communication could be improved upon to better coordinate events and activities in the city.
Smith said some type of group communication method could be a huge benefit to the city.
“I think there needs to be a grassroots effort to keep us all in communication with each other,” Smith said. “It would be great if there was a team of local businesses that shared with each other just so they knew more.”
Kupas, too, said that although there are events that bring people together downtown, they could be better promoted so more people know to attend.
In addition to initiatives by some of the local businesses in town, Butler Rotary Club PM is creating a Cultural District, which will represent opportunities for arts and expressions in the northern blocks of the city. The district is bordered by East Jefferson, North Main, Howard, North McKean and Franklin streets.
Osche is project manager for the cultural district for the Rotary Club, and said there will be signage and special benches placed within the area of the district, in addition to other artistic displays.
Shaffer said filling empty storefronts in town would also go a long way toward making the city more inviting, and giving people more to do.
“We have a lot of open space, and I think getting some businesses who are ready and willing to take the chance, it really is just getting those spaces filled,” Shaffer said. “Give people more stuff, more reasons to come downtown, and that gets more eyes on everyone.”
Dandoy echoed each of their sentiments, and said a more populated downtown helps promote health and safety in the city.
“We have to have a pleasing aesthetic to our downtown area, that it's looking good, it's clean,” he said. “The misconception that downtown is not safe, it is so vibrant, so many people enjoying themselves, that we have less concern about that issue.”
