Downtown businesses offered involvement in planning the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The City of Springfield has included downtown businesses in the planning process of this year's Birthplace of Route 66 Festival, after business owners voiced concerns about how the event impacted their operation. 

The annual Birthplace of Route 66 Festival will be Friday, Aug. 8, and Saturday, Aug. 9, celebrating 99 years of the Mother Road.

“It’s something that’s kind of integral to the identity of Springfield, so it’s hard to knock it,” said Trevor Dean, executive chef at The Wheelhouse. “It’s exciting to see people coming into the city and interacting with it.”

The Wheelhouse is located in the old Prairie Pie location. In previous years, Prairie Pie expressed concerns related to the  Birthplace of Route 66 Festival during their time located downtown.

Dean said the city reached out to The Wheelhouse for input on this year’s revised layout.

“In previous years, they had kind of used Jefferson [Avenue]—I think the stage was set up more close—and that really closed everything off for Prairie Pie,” Dean said.

One of the changes this year to help downtown businesses is offering free booth spaces for businesses to sell their products or services as a part of the festival footprint.

However, Dean said The Wheelhouse had to opt out of the offer due to their small staff size.

“It wasn’t going to be an option for us to stretch our staff to have a booth and participate in the festival directly,” Dean said. “For restaurants that are open for a larger portion of the day or can stretch their staff and have stalls, I think it’s a great thing. But for smaller restaurants that are growing like ourselves, I think it’s just kind of an obstruction to business.”

Other downtown businesses such as Hold Fast Brewing Company, Civil Kitchen and J.O.B. Public House did take part in this year’s planning process.

Cora Scott with the City of Springfield said they've learned a lot this year and will continue to in the future.

“We know running a business takes a lot of time, and it’s very difficult to do anything outside of that. So, we’re really appreciative of their time helping us plan a festival that is maybe more balanced for everyone involved,” said Scott. “There will always be a little bit of tension just because of the number of road closures it takes for these types of events. I really empathize with downtown businesses having to deal with a variety of different factors. But I feel like we have a great working relationship now.”

The city said 100 more volunteers are still needed to help streamline festival operations and improve downtown business exposure.

You can sign up and find more information on the event by visiting https://www.route66festivalsgf.com/