No more lattes at the Library Center: Here's why coffee shops for bookworms have struggled
Coffee and a good book seems like a natural pairing, but java joints have had a tough time in the Springfield-Greene Library District in recent years.
Seattle Roast Coffee discontinued its services at the The Library Center in south Springfield earlier this month, citing supply issues and product cost among the reasons for ending its 11-month stint.
It's the third coffee company to close up shop in the district since the pandemic began.
Before Seattle Roast Coffee's short stint, Mudhouse Coffee was a staple at the Library Center, enjoying a 12-year run that ended in 2020 during the coronavirus shutdown.
At the Midtown Carnegie Branch, Big Momma's had about an eight-year presence before also ending its services during the 2020 shutdown.
Kathleen O'Dell, spokeswoman for the Springfield-Greene County Library District, attributes much of the lack of sales to fewer people in the library.
"We have not recaptured the kind of foot traffic we had before the pandemic," O'Dell said. "(Mudhouse) had a great following. Everyone that worked in this building loved it."
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More expensive overhead, fewer customers, and staffing issues appear to be the biggest reasons local coffee shops have pulled their services from the library.
With the upcoming expansion the Library Center's auditorium, O'Dell said there are no plans to bring in another coffee vendor in the near future.
Foot traffic falters as costs climb
Lyle Foster, who owns Big Momma's, the popular Commercial Street coffee shop, said that his business never made a lot of money during the years it was in Midtown Carnegie, but he liked providing the service.
"The notion of having a coffee shop in a library is good," Foster said. "But you just don't generate the customer base in a library."
Rising prices on milk, coffee beans, and other products also made the library venture harder at such a small volume, according to Foster.
"The cost of key products has risen," said Foster, who had one employee working the Midtown library. "You have to subsidize (the business)."
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The Library Center has hosted a coffee shop since its 1999 inception. Some now-defunct chains that previously brewed beverages for bookworms included Churchill's and Cafe 641.
O'Dell noted at the Schweitzer Brentwood branch still has a Keurig coffee service in its gift shop.
"Nothing is better than to grab a quick cup of coffee and a book," she said.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Coffee vendors are leaving Springfield libraries. Here's why.
