Trouble Brewing for Library Coffee Cart as City Terminates Contract

For Alex Malo, owner of the coffee cart at the Coronado Public Library, it was never about the money. After all, most of his clients aren’t necessarily big spenders…they’re the kids of Coronado.

Every day around lunchtime and when school gets out in the afternoon, kids from elementary school all the way up to high schoolers line up outside of the cart. They buy everything from ramen and Takis to iced vanilla lattes and Boba Tea.

Malo likes the job because of his connection with the kids. He gets to keep an eye on them, including his own children; one attends Village Elementary and one goes to Coronado Middle School.

“I don’t make a lot of money,” said Malo, who has been running the cart for eight and a half years. “It’s a labor of love. I’m here for them. I see the smiles, and it’s worth it.”

For Coronado High School junior Chloe Barry, a stop at the coffee cart—called Amalo Brew-—is a regular part of her day.

“For countless students like me, Alex’s coffee cart is vital to our high school experience,” said Barry. “Students are drawn to the convenient location at the library. It’s a spot where we grab lunch and engage in our studies in a welcoming space.”

CHS student Drew Russell says the coffee cart is an easy, fun and affordable place to meet up with friends.

“It’s the most affordable place on the island to get lunch, and it’s close to the school,” said Russell. “We don’t get a super long lunch break, and Vons is expensive. And Alex is just a really genuine guy and he really cares about the kids he sees every day.”

Resident Karry Bradshaw Hill calls Malo a “gem” and says he’s an important part of the student community.

“For some of those kids he’s a hot meal,” said Hill. “He’s the difference between starving until pickup or eating. He looks out for the kids and lets prices slide so they get something to eat.”

But it looks like Amalo Brew’s days are numbered. According to Malo, the City of Coronado is terminating his contract. He says his last day will be sometime after the New Year.

A representative from the City sent The Coronado Times an email saying that “the current operator of the coffee cart has only been able to offer limited hours of operation, and the City of Coronado is interested in expanding coffee cart hours to better serve library patrons.”

The City’s email also referenced “outstanding permit issues.”

According to Malo, the trouble started a couple months ago when the City started asking him for paperwork, including his insurance, documentation from the Health Department, his food manager’s license and his business license. Malo said he turned in all his paperwork.

Then they asked him to expand the hours the coffee cart is open. Currently, Malo runs the cart from 11:15 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday. The city asked him to open up the cart Monday through Friday, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, and weekends.

But he says opening more hours wouldn’t make sense for his business.

“When there is no school, my sales drop completely,” he said. “90% of my customers are moms, parents and teachers. Almost everyone is connected to the schools.”

Malo also works as a server for the Marriott, and has to be at his job at 5 pm. And he works the coffee cart alone. He doesn’t have any employees.

“I’m a one man show,” he said. “If there was business during those extra hours, I would be open for business. But at that point it’s taking money out of my pocket.”

He said he invited the city to take the keys and run the coffee cart when he can’t be there, but they weren’t interested.

Councilman Casey Tanaka said that Malo had eight years to refine his operations, and the current council feels like a better coffee cart operation might be found through a new RFP (Request for Proposal).

“I think the council wanted a more consistent concessionaire in terms of hours of operation,” said Tanaka. “I don’t mind a concessionaire who caters to youth, but a coffee cart should be able to offer consistent morning hours and weekend hours, in addition to focusing on when the kids are leaving school.”

Carl Luna, from Coronado Friends of the Library, says that he and other FOL members have received multiple complaints from library patrons about what he called “erratic” hours.

“[They said] that it seems like the [coffee cart] is only open when the high school and middle school kids are getting out of school, and that it’s been closed for extended periods during school breaks and summer vacation, and that the service is slow and the product line is not particularly appealing,” said Luna.

Luna says there is no intention by the city to eliminate the coffee cart; but that it wants to find the highest quality vendor who can operate effectively in front of the library, both as a public amenity and as a consistently open draw for bringing people into the library.

“The library has nothing to do with this process,” said Luna. “It’s under the purview of the council and the city manager.”

Luna says that having a coffee cart at the library provides value, offering residents and visitors a nice setting for a quick cup of coffee. Instead of the old idea, “No food or beverage in the library,” libraries are encouraging patrons to come and linger over coffee and an “incredible selection of books and holdings,” according to Luna.

“For the coffee cart to work in this capacity, it needs to be open regular and consistent days and hours, offer speedy service and provide options that serve all ages of the public who go to the library and not just appeal to the tastes of middle and high school students,” said Luna. “As is, the coffee cart seems to be run on an ad-hoc basis according to the whims of the current vendor, which is itself a violation of the terms of service the vendor agreed to with the city.”

But Malo says when he started Amalo Brewing in 2016, he agreed to the terms set by the City of Coronado. He said he had an agreement with the prior City Manager, Blair King, and the assistant city manager.

“They said, ‘here is your schedule,’ and they gave me a schedule and I complied,” he said.

Malo says when he bought his coffee cart and moved into the space eight and a half years ago, there was no one working the spot. He says he was about the 10th vendor who tried to make it work.

“When I first started, I thought I struck gold, I thought I was going to make money,” he said. “Then I realized after consistently making $45 in sales a day, it wasn’t about the money. And I started to realize the impact I was having on the kids. And I was like, you know, I think this is going to be better.”

Then there’s the problem of the permit fee required by the city. Malo says his earnings were so dismal when he opened that his permit fee was waived in a verbal agreement, and that the city did not reach out to him for payment or issue him an invoice until recently. He said he would pay the back fees, but the city told him to hold off.

Then they sent him the termination letter about a month-and-a-half ago. Malo says they terminated his contract under the “convenience clause,” which means it can be terminated for any reason. He has appealed this decision.

“If you want me to leave, just tell me,” he said. “Don’t tell me that it’s because I’m not compliant, and that I never paid.”

The news isn’t going over so well with many residents, especially the students.

“Losing this coffee cart would be more than just losing coffee…it would strip away a cherished tradition from the community,” said Barry.

“I’m heartbroken the city would shut down something that is so popular and needed by the community, and especially the students,” said Russell.

Malo says he’s the only coffee cart vendor who’s been able to last so long at the location. He says it would be a struggle for anyone to run a business there with the longer hours required by the city.

He admits maybe a big company could do it, like a chain.

“Who can afford to do it?” he asked. “Companies who have money.”

For community members like Christy Curran and Maureen Fitzgerald, this would be a huge loss.

“I regularly go to the coffee cart in the afternoon to witness all the activity around Alex and his cart,” said Curran.  “Alex has a made a warm an inviting place for kids to gather after school or while studying. He has a natural rapport with the kids. This is not the place for a chain.”

For Fitzgerald, whose high school daughter is one of Malo’s longtime customers, the coffee cart is the heartbeat of the student community.

“He makes our space more joyful,” said Fitzgerald. “He’s someone the kids can count on being there, and a lot of kids don’t have that.”

Malo says he’s has accepted the city’s decision, but he’s worried about the students, including the two kids he mentors through the Accessibility Program, which helps young people with disabilities age 16-20 work real-life jobs.

“These kids are only allowed to have one job a school year, so come January, they’ll have nothing,” he said.

Malo says he appreciates the kind words from residents who stop by. Some even make him signs and have taken to social media to show their support.

“It all started with this sign made by a nine year old,” he said. “If this little girl can start all this commotion, something isn’t right.”

But he says no one is above the law, and if the city wants him to leave, he’ll leave.

“I’ve already gone through all the stages of grief,” he said. “At the end of the day, if the city doesn’t want me to be there, it’s not going to happen. But I’m going to sleep at night knowing I tried as much as I could.”

Editor’s note: Originally Malo’s last day was to be December 31st, but he says this has changed to sometime in January or February.