At long last, the coffee cart at the library has reopened, and customers are loving it.
“I am so glad it’s finally open! My kids and I can hardly leave the library without picking up a treat for the park,” says one mom. “The coffee is great, and the owner is so friendly.”
After a long hiatus, a new owner has at last reopened–and expanded!–the coffee cart in front of the Coronado Public Library. Alex Malo is the owner and proprietor of the new business. He’s won over a faithful clientele already who love his coffee, fresh baked goods, and endless snack options. High schoolers enjoy spending their lunch break on the outdoor patio, and adults and students often work on their laptops with a cup of Alex’s coffee beside them.
Alex himself is a Coronado local. His wife works at NAS North Island in Coronado, and he says, “I really wanted her to be able to bike to work instead of taking a daily hour-long commute.” He also cites life by the beach and “being a part of this great community” as reasons he wanted to locate his business in Coronado. “I love the people, the environment, the weather, the beach, the bay, the bicycles, the people!”
Alex began working in the coffee business when he was a teenager. “It all started as a summer job at a mini coffee shop a couple of decades ago,” Alex said. Since then he has worked for numerous food-related businesses behind the scenes, in both construction and operation. Recently he also operated a coffee cart in a courtyard at a business building, a setting that he thinks prepared him for this experience but cannot compare to the diverse, more relaxed scene outside the Coronado library. “Being a small business,” he said, “has given us countless thinking hours about how to improve the workflow and aesthetics here. Each day is a learning experience.”
“I learned about the need for the coffee cart [at the Coronado Library] approximately 18 months ago,” says Alex. “Since then I worked and prayed and visualized myself here.” His dreaming and planning came to fruition this past September. “Of course this could not be possible without the help and support of the City and all of its intervening officials that really care about the community,” adds Alex.
The library is also glad to welcome the coffee cart and Alex. The staff enjoy his cheerful presence and spoke warmly of him when I asked about the new addition. They have added a table next to the entrance, however, where people can leave their food and coffee cups when entering the library, and they have prominently displayed a sign in the hallway to remind people to not bring in food and drink in order to preserve the beautiful library. With a patio that’s pleasant to sit on almost any day of the year, however, customers and library patrons don’t have to compromise too much.
“It’s great to have a coffee cart back in operation at the Coronado Library,” says Library Director Christian Esquevin. “We’re fortunate to have Alex Malo operate his cart here. He provides great service and has top-quality coffee with a good mix of other products. Alex is always friendly and the coffee cart provides a good atmosphere for the Library. It is helpful since there are no other places nearby for coffee or beverage services.”
Since opening, Alex says, “Our customers have kept us busy in the kiosk and in caterings.” He says his busiest times are at the high school’s lunch at noon and the two hours thereafter. I asked if he noticed his business change when Starbucks closed in October for the remodel, and Alex said, “Curiously, we opened one day before the closing of Starbucks and didn’t noticed any loss of clients when they reopened.”
The business right now is pretty much a one-man show, and Alex is working extremely hard to “do everything myself–and still manage to grow.” However, he has high hopes for the coffee cart and its future. To his customers, he says, “I hope they love it and I hope to see them soon and again and again! Also I hope that I can be the island local’s coffee spot where they can enjoy an excellent cup of organic coffee or tea, a pastry, or light lunch.”
Currently the coffee cart is open Monday-Friday from 8am to 7pm, and on Saturday from 9am to 4pm. Alex says, “I am looking to expand the morning hours from 6 am to cater to the early birds and military.”
On a recent weekend, I was inside the library checking out books with my family, and I saw Alex enjoying a lunch break with his wife and children. They sat at a patio table, enjoying a picnic his wife had brought with her, and Alex was entertaining them with stories. It was an idyllic scene, with the dappled autumn sunshine playing on the top of his coffee cart and over their al fresco lunch. Seeing him as Coronado local and neighbor made me like this earnest business owner even more. And of course, it doesn’t hurt that his coffee is excellent too.
