The Oak Park Public Library is abandoning the idea of having a café in its entryway and will instead try experimenting with the space in the coming months.
About a year ago, the library announced that it was terminating its agreement with All Aboard Snack Shop, just two years since its opening. This after the Buzz Café, which tried running a coffee shop there for four years, pulled the plug when it wasn’t making a profit.
All Aboard and the library had differences of opinion over how the business should be run and decided to part ways in late 2010, according to Jim Madigan, assistant director of administrative services. After chewing over what to do there for the past year, he said, the library has decided to use the space as an “Idea Box,” displaying art there and allowing different uses to pop up every month or so.
The library’s board had a hard time reaching a consensus on what to do there, he said, but it was clear that a café was out.
“You can get coffee at Red Hen, Starbucks and Caribou all a half block away,” he said. “They weren’t interested in pursuing that model anymore, and they didn’t want to spend a great deal of money.”
So they’re seeking bids to redo the floor in the space, and library staff will repaint it in the near future. Possibilities for the space could include discussion groups, quilting demonstrations or standup comedy, according to the library’s newsletter.
They hope to have the Idea Box up and running by early January, and will likely test out the concept for an undetermined period of time. Madigan hopes to eventually have a formal way to suggest uses for the space, but until then, anyone interested can call him at 708-697-6909.