Former Atlas Hotel Revived by Rock Scene

With the coming and going of businesses in Butler, it's no wonder that many people don't know what is being offered in their own community. With the opening of The Net Outreach, teens and students have begun to take notice of what their community has to offer.

What was once the former Atlas Hotel, The Net Outreach is a 10,000 square foot, four story, youth and community outreach center, located at 100 Center Avenue, just off of Cliff Street in downtown Butler.

In 2000, Founder and CEO of Grace Youth and Family Foundation, Bill Halle and his wife Deborah, began using The Net Outreach as a place for the youth groups to gather.

"Grace of Youth actually began here as Friday night volleyball games. We would play for an hour or so, have a bible lesson, and resume playing," says Mr. Halle.

It continued in this fashion until problems seemed to arise around them.

"For about two years we didn't want anyone to know about us. There was construction all around with the building of the bridge, and we just didn't want to risk anything or anyone," says Mrs. Halle.

Even though The Net kept out of the general public for quite some time, they brought in large crowds throughout the years by holding concerts. These concerts ranged anywhere between local bands to national touring bands like Manic Drive, Article One, Burning Yesterday, About A Mile, and Third From First.

International touring band Manic Drive's lead guitarist, Michael Cavallo, is just one of the many band members who loves coming back to The Net, due to the closeness you get with everyone in the room.

"Manic Drive has been playing here for about ten years. It has such a close family feel for everyone, and it's not just a place for older people to come, but also younger kids can come and enjoy some great music," Cavallo says.

Finally, now that all construction is complete in the area, and with the final touches of a café, The Net is officially ready to open their doors to everyone.

Their café not only offers a wide variety of coffee and smoothie specialty drinks, but also offers a menu of comfort food with sandwiches and soups. Even though all of their coffee and flavors are imported, and all their food homemade, they are still able to price everything between $2.00-5.00.

"We offer everything at very low prices, just do to the fact that we are catering to students who are still in school, and may not have a ton of money to spend. Our coffee is actually the best quality around. It is grown in a different area and at a different temperature, which gives it a very rich quality without being too overpowering," says Mrs. Halle.

Of course, a café isn't complete without a little sports action on game days. The Net offers two big screen plasma televisions, and you can always be sure they have the games on for those sports fans.

"On days when both the Steelers and the Penguins played, we had both televisions on to accommodate everyone. Of course there are always those days where there aren't games, and people just come in to eat lunch and watch television, which we actually encourage," says Mrs. Halle.

Not only does The Net offer entertainment, but it is actually the home of several meeting places for county sponsored programs like: Sports programming, Youth Focus Team, and Counseling. With their open door policy, The Net meets all requirements for all sorts of events in the community.

When asked what the public needs to know about The Net, Third From First front man Steve Lowry had nothing but praises for the building and the Halle family.

"It's a family run organization that offers the whole the family an enjoyable night out. After you come to your first show, and get to meet people it's like you've joined the family. The Net is like Butler's own hidden treasure, hopefully we can get more people to realize what it's all about," says Lowry.