March 13, 2008

Almaden library and community center finally gets café

Although it actually opened a week earlier, Saturday, March 8 was the grand opening of the Oasis Café, located in the hallway near the Almaden Community Center’s front desk.

The Oasis Café’s grand opening was crowded with friends, family and locals joining in to make the café’s first official day of business a profitable one. Among those gathering for coffee are Abdul Yahya (Emad’s father), Sam Haddad, Emad Yahya, Star Yahya, head librarian Pam Crider, District 10 Councilmember Nancy Pyle, library administrator Mary Nacu, Joseph Lewis, and Rosalee Yahya. Photos by Carol Rosen

Owners Astabrik and Emad (Star) Yahya waited for March 8 to celebrate women, Emad told the Times, because March 8 is International Women’s Day and they wanted to celebrate all the women that help make the café possible from head librarian Pam Crider to Ruth Barefoot, who is manager of the library’s customer service program, to Councilmember Nancy Pyle and to Star Yahya, who will be running the cafe.

The Yahyas live a quarter of a mile from the library/community center and have experience from their first café in the Vineland Library, which opened in 2006. Hours are different than other libraries, with the community center located in the same building, so the hours at the Almaden facility are a bit longer—9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 10- to 6 on Saturday. It is closed Sunday.

The couple moved here from Iraq in the late 1990s. His mother Rosalee Yahya is a native Californian, who met his father Abdul when he was in college here in the states. She moved to Iraq and raised a family, but the family moved back here “when the situation started to deteriorate in the 90s after the first Gulf War,” said Emad. “My brother needed medical attention and I pulled everyone out behind me. It was difficult there as the medical, educational and economic situation was deteriorating.”

Besides a full range of coffee drinks, the café serves smoothies, slushies, fruit drinks and other bottled drinks. It also carries pastries, sandwiches and healthy snacks including fresh fruit.

The library offers lounge seating and study tables so customers can relax and enjoy quality coffee or smoothies along with free WiFi access. The Almaden cafe site is the fifth to open under the library's "Coffee in the Library" program, supporting San Jose Public Library's overall efforts to enhance customer service.

"People are so busy, these days that it can be a challenge to find ways to relax with family and friends," says Barefoot. "We encourage community members to look at the library as a place where they can do that and being able to provide access to on-site refreshments just adds up to a more pleasurable experience."

Qualifications to run the library cafes require background checks with no criminal history, and individuals must be conscientious, said Barefoot. The library works with the owners in a collaborative fashion charging a minimal rent of $100 per month.

“It’s difficult if you are trying to build business and the library isn’t open early when people normally drink coffee. Star is lucky because she can build her hours around the community center hours so that she has customers.”

Barefoot adds that the library is looking to add cafes to Edenvale, Cambrian, Berryessa, Hillview and Rose Garden Library branches in the near future with expectations of the coffee shop type businesses in the fall for the new Willow Glen, Pearl and Joyce Ellington libraries.

“Star wanted to manage her own business with flexible hours because we have two young children,” said Emad. We live close by and our children go to Simonds, which makes Star’s job easy.”

She was working with her assistant Perla Bolivar, who lives in Blossom Hill, and will manage the café at the Vineland Library as Star takes over at Almaden.

“I love people,” says Star, “and the library is the perfect place for my business. My oldest child, who is 6, goes to Simonds and after school comes here where they have activities and programs. My 4-year-old is in preschool all day.”

At the grand opening, she was happily greeting customers and making all sorts of coffee drinks as well as providing healthy and tempting looking snacks for her customers, which included family, friends as well as library and community center patrons.

Expansion of library facilities under the $212 branch development bond approved by voters in November 2000 has provided the opportunity to fully transform San Jose's libraries from the traditional "book storehouse" model to active community centers where residents can fulfill their information needs, select a DVD for the weekend, enjoy a cup of coffee, relax and catch up on local news with their neighbors all in one stop.

Almaden Library and Community Center is located at 6445 Camden Ave. The new café, located in the lobby in front of the Tiny Town entrance, is open during library hours. For information, call (408) 808-3040.