Library to Add Cafe This Fall

Library patrons will be able to sip coffee or grab a snack this fall when a new vendor moves into the currently vacant Novel Brew Cafe.

Kim Stoltz, who currently is the owner of Book and Bean Cafe inside the Joliet Public Library, will bring her business to the now that the board of trustees approved a contract last week.

"The staff is very excited and we hope the community will be, too, to have this as an option," library Director Kate Hall said.

An opening date is contingent on getting the necessary licensing from the village to serve food, as well as other maintenance issues, Stoltz said. But Hall believes Book and Bean could be open in late August or early September.

The cafe would be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Although the library is adding Friday hours starting in September, Hall said the cafe plans to first see how business is and then decide whether to extend hours.

Stoltz said the cafe will be similar to the location in Joliet by offering various forms of entertainment, including open mic nights and poetry slams. The menu offered will also be close to that in Joliet, by not exactly the same, Stoltz said.

The Joliet menu includes coffee, sandwiches, soup, smoothies, salads and even flatbread pizza, and a favorite is the chicken salad. Stoltz said the menu isn't finalized yet because she's still learning what she's allowed to serve in the cafe.

Hall said the cafe could bring in an additional $5,000 or more in annual revenue to the library through rent.