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Dunn Bros shop wins OK to stay in Eden Prairie

After a citizens rallied to her side, in the end it was the shop owner's offer on snow removal that got her another 3 years in the historic house.

By LAURIE BLAKE, Star Tribune

Last update: November 19, 2008 - 11:01 PM

The Dunn Bros coffee shop will stay in Eden Prairie's historic Smith-Douglas-More house another three years.

Franchise owner Ann Schuster beat out a competing French restaurant to renew her lease in the space she has made a popular community meeting spot.

Schuster will pay $34,000 a year -- up from $30,000 in her current lease -- and she will take care of outside property maintenance at her own expense.

On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously chose her bid over a competing proposal by Cafe Ficelle, a French restaurant that would have offered breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Jean-Pierre Legand and Michael Dunne, the principals behind the French restaurant, proposed a five-year lease at $36,000 annually. But they offered to pay $6,000 to $7,000 of outside property maintenance while leaving the rest to the city. Eden Prairie estimates that snow removal, lawn care and other maintenance would cost the city $14,000.

The difference in maintenance costs gave Schuster the edge. The cafe also wanted a city loan to pay for $100,000 in kitchen improvements.

Mayor Phil Young said Schuster's was the superior proposal and the city had met its obligation to open the lease to competition.

Council Member Sherry Butcher said she received more than 100 e-mails about the lease. She said the way lease renewal was handled - which put the popular coffee shop in jeopardy -- created divisiveness in the community. "To me this was not just a financial decision,'' Butcher said. "I have thought that the Dunn Bros has offered much more than just a business. It is truly a community center in so many ways.''

Council Member Kathy Nelson commended Schuster for keeping the historic house in good repair and open to the public.

Schuster said she was thrilled with the unanimous approval.

In other business, the City Council made no move to proceed with interior remodeling at the city's new Arts Center following a report by the Friends of the Eden Prairie Art Center that fund-raising to date has totaled $3,500.

In September, the council tabled action on an $80,000 contract to add a new restroom and do other interior remodeling necessary to open the building to the public. The council first wanted to see that more funds could be raised from private sources.

Young said then that if donations reached $80,000 by this month he would vote to go ahead with the work. The city already has paved a new parking at the building on Equitable Drive, which was given to the city by the family of Roger Sampson.

Young said Wednesday that the fundraisers need more time.

"I do think that the private fundraising is going a little slower than was hoped -- certainly understandable in today's economy,'' Young said. "The city remains committed to the Arts Center, and I'm confident we'll have additional funds raised and an opening certainly in the first half of 2009.''

Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711

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