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Politics & Government

Cannondale To Get New Coffeeshop by July?

The Connecticut DOT is preparing to lease the former Cafe Au Lait coffee shop to a new tenant, but obstacles remain.

Last week's story on the closing of Cafe au Lait, the coffeeshop at the Cannondale train station, attracted much attention and Wiltonians seemed both concerned and excited about what would become of the area of the station committed to commerce.

Talk around town is that the coffeeshop was forced to close when its commercial espresso machine went out of operation and the business owner could not afford to replace the integral machinery. These machines, like one you might see at Starbucks which can make several shots of espresso at once, cost of about $5,000 - for a secondhand machine. New models go for about $7,000.

There are at least two people in town interested in renting the space for similar businesses - small cafes featuring gourmet coffee, soups and sandwiches. However, the state's department of transportation (DOT), which owns the train station, is not quite ready to re-lease the space.

Among the unique problems of having a business at the charming train station are: little parking - only six spots are designated for the commercial space, no legal place for signage on Route 7 to let motorists know the shop is there, and that the train station sees few people very early in the morning for a short time and again, for a very limited time, in the evening.

"The DOT had a long-standing lease with Cafe Au Lait, which as part of their coffee concession operation, would open and close the station building," said Judd Everhart of the Connecticut DOT. "The principals informed the Department earlier this year that due to the poor economic environment and other related issues, that they would need to terminate our agreement.  They effectively vacated the building on March 31, 2010. Therefore, the Cannondale Station building has been closed since Cafe Au Lait's departure."

In response to a question about how soon interested renters may submit business proposals and how soon thirsty residents may again sip lattes at the station, Everhart responded:

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"Our Office of Rail is finalizing a Request for Proposals (RFP) package that will allow any interested party an opportunity to submit a proposal for use/occupancy of the building, for our consideration. We hope to have the RFP advertised locally and posted on the web within 30 days. As part of the process, a mandatory site visit will be scheduled as well as a deadline to submit a proposal. All things considered, we hope to select a new tenant by mid-July 2010, with actual occupancy to follow soon thereafter."

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