Chapters Coffee Shop Gets a Renewal From Urbandale Library Board

patrons will be able to get coffee, cookies and lunch at the  in the library for a bit longer.

Despite owing $5,000 in 2011 back rent and being the third business not to be able to make money in the spot, Mustard's Restaurant's contract will be renegotiated for 2012, the Urbandale Library Board of Trustees decided Monday night.

The vote was unanimous, but the board discussed the issue for more than an hour and trustee Thomas Graves urged the board and Library Director Julie Wells to start planning for other potential uses for the cafe space.

The board voted to ask City Attorney Bob Laden to draft a contract with Mustard's for 2012 with these provisions: 

• The library board will not forgive the $5,000 owed from 2011, but agreed to let Mustard's pay $250 every other month on that amount.
• Dion Cobb, president of Mustard's, asked to have his monthly rent cut from $500 to $250 unless the cafe's sales receipts for the month exceeded $4,350. He told the board the coffee shop made money at first, but sales declined in 2010 and 2011. 
• The board agreed to discount the rent only if it was paid promptly on the 5th of the month and Mustard's files sales reports on the 15th of every month. If rent is late, by even one day, the library can terminate the contract immediately.
• "The whole time I've been on this board, you've owed us money," Graves said to Cobb.
• Trustees lowered the monthly sales threshhold for discounted rent to $4,000, not $4350.
• Cobb had asked to keep the coffee shop open fewer hours, saying it doesn't do as much business in the evening. Board members agreed that shorter hours might increase profitability, but want Cobb to consider opening Sunday afternoon, the library's busiest day of the week.
• Cobb also must attend at least one of the board's monthly meetings a quarter. He said he's confident "communication can be improved."

The library took heat on the issue of back rent from City Council members during its budget meeting last month said trustee Sheila Whalen. "They viewed it that our taxpayers are paying for the cafe."

The library owns all the equipment in the cafe and the rent will pay for its eventual replacement.

Cobb told the board that connections and allegiances to Urbandale influenced his decision to continue to try to operate the business, as did his sense that the economy is improving.

"I do feel somewhat optimistic," he said. January sales were up and they were up at the restaurant, as well,"