Trouble Brewing over
Coffee-Vendor Selection
The Howard County (Md.) Library and the county government are being sued by a Baltimore-area coffee-shop chain that claims the bid to run two library cafés was not awarded correctly. The suit by Straight from Seattle Espresso asserts that its competitor Daily Grind, which submitted the winning bid, failed to mention that it had lost a contract with the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing for poor service and other problems.
Matthew McCauley, who owns Straight from Seattle Espresso with his wife, said in the November 20 Baltimore Sun that he expected more careful reference checking from the Howard County government and its library system. “When it is a government entity, I feel there is a higher standard of accountability that should be present,” he said.
Library Director Valerie J. Gross said that the library followed the correct procedures to award the bid. “We complied with our procurement regulations, which requires the approval of our board of trustees . . . and we checked references thoroughly,” she told the Sun.
The first library café opened in the Glenwood branch, but the company running it asked to be released from the contract two years early because it was losing money. In August, the library announced the Daily Grind would take over the space and run a new café in the central library in Columbia.
“We’re extremely pleased with the services that Daily Grind is providing, as are our customers,” Gross said.
Posted November 26, 2001.
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