Bruders question cafe in plans for new library on DNR/Spencer site

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
Keith and Ginger Bruder, who have been working on the genealogy of their family and now their community’s Civil War soldiers, are a little skeptical about having a café in the new library being designed for Belleville.
At a meeting of the Building Committee of the Belleville Area District Library on Dec. 30, the Bruders gave their opinion about the library’s café, based on their experience.
The 500-square-foot café being planned for inside the proposed library, would have 12 seats at small tables with two chairs per table.
“It would be a Starbucks-kind of tended café,” said library architect Dan Whisler. “Libraries that have this don’t want their librarians to become baristas, so they have leased tenants and share the profits.”
He said the café would be just outside of the youth area and would have a family-friendly kind of arrangement.
Ginger Bruder said she has been to many libraries in her travels to get information for her genealogical studies and many of the areas in those libraries that started out as cafes, ended up as storage areas because they were not profitable to the tenants. They weren’t used enough.
Keith Bruder said Belleville has had six coffee shops in the recent past and all of them are gone.
Committee members said there are cafes in libraries in Redford, Rochester, St. Clair, St. Clair Shores and other areas. They plan to have one in Belleville, too.