New Cafe in Wheaton Library Could Open By Summer

Possibly as early as June, residents in Wheaton can enjoy a cup of coffee when they visit the local library. Betsy Adamowski, executive director of the Wheaton Public Library estimates that it will be summer before the space that will be the Cafe on the Park opens its doors. But the library has approved the amount of money it will take to renovate the space to convert it into a cafe and the vendor who will run it.

“We currently do not have a cafe in the library,” she said. “There is a space in the library that is called Parkview Commons that was intended to be a cafe when the library was built in 2007.”

That space wasn’t utilized for that, but when Adamowski took over as executive director in 2013, she went about studying the feasibility for the space to be developed.

“We did a community analysis and the community made it clear that they would like a cafe in that space,” she said.

So the next step was to find out how much renovations would cost and who would run the cafe.

The renovations of $82,000 were approved by the Wheaton Library Board, so the next step was the business end.

“We put out an request for proposal and I contacted all of the businesses in the Wheaton area that dealt in coffee or cafes,” she said.

Two businesses returned the RFPs - River City Roasters and a two business team - I Have a Bean/Jo & Doh Donuts. Earlier this month, trustees chose I Have a Bean/Jo & Doh Donuts.

“Both of those (RFPs) were extremely competetive,” Adamowski said. “They both did an excellent job with their presentations.”

“It was a very difficult choice for the library board of trustees to decide which should go in because either would have been successful.”

Adamowski said she did not get to vote, but she knows what board members were looking for.

“We were looking for something that had a different kind of a flavor and had a fresh look for downtown Wheaton,” she said.

She is confident that Cafe on the Park will fit that bill.

“We are in the very, very, very, very beginning, like day one in putting the contracts together with Cafe at the Park,” she said. “I’m anticipating if everything goes the way I think it will go it will be an early summer opening.”