Library selects a cafe vendor

Board accepts donation of art for new building.

By: Jennifer Potash
   The Princeton Public Library announced a proprietor for the café to be located in the new library and received a significant donation for the art collection to be displayed there.
   The trustees Tuesday authorized the library administration to proceed with a contract with Chez Alice, a Nassau Street gourmet shop and catering service, to run the café in the new library.
   And Naomi Savage, a Princeton Township photographer and artist, has offered the library an engraved photograph, said Leslie Burger, director of the library. The library’s board of trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to accept the donation.
   Kelly Hamdan, owner of Chez Alice who took over the business from founder Alice De Tiberage five years ago, said the café space will allow her to expand her business beyond the current location along the east end of Nassau Street.
   "This is a wonderful opportunity," she said.
   Earlier this year, the library requested information from local cafés, restaurants and bakeries about providing café service in the library, Ms. Burger said. The information and suggestions from five businesses helped the library complete the plans for the space, located off the main entrance of the new building.
   Plans include 800 square feet of space for the new eatery, with access to the new plaza outside. The small bistro is expected to have only three or four tables, and won’t compete with the coffeehouses and cafés on nearby Witherspoon and Nassau streets, Ms. Burger said.
   Four businesses submitted proposals for the café and the list was later cut to two applicants, Ms. Burger said. The trustees followed a system that awarded points based on how the businesses responded to each of several criteria, Ms. Burger said.
   The menu will include items such as Chez Alice’s popular pastries, cappuccino, as well as gourmet and specialty sandwiches and wraps and soups, Ms. Hamdan said.
   A children’s menu will also be available for the cost "of the loose change in kids’ pockets," she said. The cafe will also provide coffee and light refreshment service for library meetings and events.
   The Art Committee, which advises the trustees on art selection for the new library, approached Ms. Savage about the possibility of purchasing one of her works, Ms. Burger said.
   Ms. Savage instead offered to donate an engraved photograph called "Ozymandias," said Ms. Burger.
   Ms. Savage, niece of Man Ray, the late dadaist and surrealist painter, photographer and filmmaker, pioneered the photographic engraving process.
   Ms. Savage created a 50-foot wall made from photographic engravings at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library in Austin, Texas, featuring Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson.