After having no luck finding anyone to operate a cafe in its new library last spring, Atherton plans to solicit another round of applications. Town staffers say there is renewed interest in the cafe, which they hope can open in the fall.

The new 10,000-square-foot, $19.1 million library, part of the town's $32 million civic center project, is expected to be completed this spring. Last March, staff asked for proposals from vendors to finish and operate the 250-square-foot space, including outfitting it with equipment, supplies and furniture, and signing a contract to operate it for three years. By the May deadline, no one had applied.

During a Jan. 19 meeting, the council approved the request for proposals (RFP) once a subcommittee of council members Elizabeth Lewis and Bob Polito help staff revise it. The RFP should go out to the community on Friday, Jan. 28, said City Manager George Rodericks in an email. The hope is to have the cafe operational by October, if not sooner.

But since the first RFP failed to garner any applications, there has been renewed interest regarding the potential of the cafe space, according to a staff report. During a town's ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new civic center, which was an opportunity to see more of the completed site, there were several ad hoc discussions with potential vendors, according to the report.

DeGolia said whoever runs the cafe could also gain "significant" catering business, for parties or events, from cafe customers.

Lewis, Polito and Councilwoman Diana Hawkins-Manuelian questioned whether the RFP should state that the town would be willing to outfit the space itself so the upfront cost of that work isn't a barrier to "aspiring young operators."

Polito called the RFP "destined for failure" in its current form during the meeting. The town needs to make clear that it wants the vendor to succeed and that it's not trying to make money off of the space.

"If we outfitted the space ourselves it'd be a whole different ball game," he said.

An approximately 2,000 square foot deck and terrace fronts the cafe space.

The temporary library, located in a trailer on the corner of Dinkelspiel Station Lane and Maple Avenue, closed in December, as staff readies to move its collection to the new facility this spring.

In 2013, when town consultants gathered input on the civic center, they found residents would like to a community coffee shop. Other amenities of interest included a park-like atmosphere, an open plaza for performances and shows, and meeting spaces for the community, according to the staff report.

Other project updates

The town expects the landscaped courtyard in front of Town Hall to be ready when the new library opens. The work is in progress now that the old police department building has been demolished, Rodericks said in an email.

A civic center subcommittee is reviewing final stone slabs for the donor wall, he said.

The Council Chambers is 90% complete but the town is still waiting on the final technology installations, he said. The City Council has met remotely since March 2020 when the pandemic hit.

The council will next meet on Feb. 2. The meeting will include a mid-year budget report, a report on the town's recent communications drill and consideration of amendments to the town's landscape screening ordinance.

More information on the cafe application is available on the town's website. Proposals are due by 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 15.

Watch a video of the meeting here.