New cafe will bring back San Mateo library's buzz (by Will Oremus / Daily News Staff Writer)

Since May 12, visitors to San Mateo's Main Library trekking up to the third floor for a cup of Bean Street Coffee have suffered a buzzkill when they found the cafe shuttered.
They'll be glad to know a plan is brewing to bring in a replacement, tentatively called Alex's at the Library. The city council on Monday night approved a lease of the third-floor library space to Abdel "Alex" Elrakib, proprietor of Foster City Coffee House and Bakery. He'll pay the city 10 percent of his gross sales revenue each month that he makes at least $10,000.
Bean Street, which has a popular location on nearby B Street in downtown San Mateo, shut down its library cafe after a year and a half. The owner couldn't be reached Tuesday for comment, but city librarian Ben Ocon said it was a "business decision" on Bean Street's part.
A cafe was a key feature that citizens requested in the design of the new $65 million Main Library, which opened in 2006. Ocon said it was placed on the third floor because people didn't want a commercial presence on the building's ground floor. Though he acknowledged a first-floor cafe might attract more customers, Ocon said the third-floor location is fitting because it's adjacent to the popular "teen lounge" area and a small outdoor terrace. Deputy City Manager Susan Loftus said of the cafe, "We really like the model and the concept. It's a matter of trying to find something that works for both the business and the library."
Elrakib's Foster City Coffee House and Bakery gets high marks for its pastries on the Internet review site Yelp.com. He couldn't be reached after the council's decision Monday, but according to city reports he has been a baker for 24 years and for seven years ran the Knewton Bakery in Belmont. Ocon said the new cafe should be up and running by the end of the summer.
Debbie Goldman, a library assistant who mans a third-floor desk near the cafe Monday nights, said she's looking forward to it. Since Bean Street closed, Goldman said, people every day have come up to her to ask what happened.

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Love the cafe in the San Mateo Library and glad to see it coming back.
Could a cafe be possible in our beautiful Burlingame library?

– Written by Fiona