Tuesday May 6

Caltrain coffee one stop closer

Train depot cafe could open in late summer

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer

Palo Alto train commuters soon may be smelling the fresh aroma of roasted coffee at the historic train depot now that the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has authorized Caffe del Doge to set up shop there.

The VTA's board of directors unanimously directed the authority's general manager Thursday to sign a lease with the Venice-based Caffe del Doge to open a cafe at Palo Alto's downtown Caltrain depot, VTA spokeswoman Linh Hoang said Monday.

Sealing the deal has been complicated because Stanford owns the Palo Alto train depot but leases it to the city, which in turn subleases it to the VTA. As a result, the sub-sublease to Caffe del Doge has had to navigate the agendas of more than a couple of boards.

Claudia Cornejo, CEO of the American branch of Caffe del Doge, said in an e-mail from Italy that she hopes to have the new European-style cafe open around the end of August or early September.

The details and timing of the lease are still pending, Hoang said.

Palo Alto's initial offer of a no-rent lease has since been slightly modified, said Bill Fellman, the city's real property manager.

Six months after its launch, the cafe will start paying its landlord - the VTA - a monthly rent of $1,500, according to a VTA staff memo.

Fellman said Cornejo's team offered in their initial proposal to pay the rent.

"They volunteered on their own," Fellman said.

Caffe del Doge was one of two parties to respond to the city's request for proposals last August to sublease an area of roughly 1,289 square feet for five years. Cafe operators will be responsible for maintaining restrooms in the train depot, which although restored to its historical condition by Caltrain in 2006 has remained closed due to budget constraints, according to a VTA staff report.

Fellman said the cafe operators soon will submit their building plans, which likely will be "in the same vein as the 1939 building.

"It should be really exciting," he said.

Stanford University has already approved the lease and the Palo Alto City Council will vote on it June 2 as part of the consent calendar, Fellman said.

Though approximately 11,700 daily passengers come through the depot on trains, buses and shuttles, previous smaller operations, including two coffee carts, couldn't stay afloat. In its report, the VTA staff says the six-month window without rent may help to stabilize operations so Caffe del Doge will be able to serve more cappuccinos than its predecessors.



E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com.