Urbandale Library Cafe Now Open on Sundays; Cuts Evening Hours

Chapters Cafe has changed its hours in hopes of finally turning a profit.

The struggling cafe didn't pay rent to the Urbandale library for nearly a year and has renegotiated its contract with the Library Board to pay rent on a sliding scale of its profitability.

A first-quarter report submitted to the library board last month shows that the cafe lost about $1,200 from January to the end of March.

Library Director Julie Wells said the cafe will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Previously, the cafe was open until 8 p.m. most weeknights and was not open on Sunday.

The cafe is operated by Mustard's Restaurant and manager Dion Cobb told the board earlier that sales were not covering his staff costs. 

Sunday is the library's busiest day, said Wells. She said the restaurant and the board hope that this will improve the cafe's bottom line.