City, Coffee Society Finalize Lease for Library Space

After several twists and turns that threatened a popular local coffee shop, the City Council and owners of the Coffee Society at the Cupertino Library have come to an agreement on a lease for the 500-square-foot space.

On Tuesday night, council members voted 4-0, with Kris Wang absent, to sign a one-year lease with Streeter and Sons, with an option for the owner to extend the lease for two more years. The rent will remain at $1,000 per month this year, but will increase by $50 a month in 2012 and again in 2013. 

An attorney for Jackie Streeter, Darcy Paul, confirmed Wednesday that Streeter and Sons had entered into the lease with the city. He said he could not comment on anything beyond the lease, such as any possible further legal action.

After Tuesday’s vote, Mayor Gilbert Wong said the city wanted to “move forward from here” with the Coffee Society’s owners.

“As we reissue the bid to them, we’re very happy to have the Coffee Society in our community and we welcome them,” he said.

Before the vote there was no public or council discussion, but the matter has been the focus of the council’s closed sessions since January, when it 3-2 on to reopen a lease bidding process.

The vote came despite a city staff recommendation to award a lease to Coffee Society, which has occupied the space since it opened three years ago. The action prompted owner Jackie Streeter to retain an attorney, threatening legal action.

Council members Wang, Barry Chang and Mayor Wong said at the Jan. 4 meeting that they had concerns over whether the four-month bidding process had been fair to all potential applicants. Specifically Wang and Chang said they thought city staff had excluded the owner of the L’Epi D’Or Bakery on Stevens Creek Boulevard.

Wang even about contacting the bakery’s owners, prompting City Manager Dave Knapp to hire an independent investigator to determine what happened during the bidding process. .

After the vote on Tuesday night, Wong stated that there was “a little bit of misunderstanding on our part, and we wanted to make sure the process was done fairly.”

In an earlier twist to the story, community members came out in support of the coffee shop and its owners, when the before the Jan. 18 council meeting. At that meeting, the council tried to to Streeter and Sons; however, attorney Paul said they wanted to renegotiate.

The new lease voted on Tuesday features points such as the locked-in rent adjustments, which was more acceptable to the owners, according to Paul.