Latte, pastries and a good book in San Benito

SAN BENITO — In San Benito, the closest thing to Starbucks is coming to the public library.
The library will open a café featuring gourmet coffee and pastries to try to lure patrons, Director Geraldo Salazar said.

“There’s a trend across the nation of libraries competing to get people in their doors,” Salazar said.

The library will earmark $12,530 to open the café that will feature cappuccino, moccachino, French vanilla latte and chai tea, Salazar said.

“It’s an excellent idea to promote the library,” Mayor Jack Garcia said.
The café’s sales will go to keep the operation running, Salazar said.

The library’s staff will run the café after the county trains them in food preparation.
Cafes have sprung up in Brownsville public libraries, the library at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Brownsville’s Lopez High School library, said Salazar, who worked for the Brownsville Public Library before taking the job here three months ago.

Residents like Norma Cortez think the café will help bring more patrons into the library.
“They need it here,” said Cortez, a former cashier who’s looking for a job. “There are not that many cafes like that (in San Benito). This is a place to go and relax with a newspaper or a book. It would get more people interested in coming.”

Alex Zuniga thinks the café will draw more residents to books, newspapers and magazines.
“It’s a great idea,” said Zuniga, who works in a call center. “Hopefully it will bring in more people to the library to read instead of being at home stuck in front of the TV.”
The library plans to open the café in September, Salazar said.