By Sherry Butcher
Dunn Bros., located in the Smith-Douglas-More house, is not your usual coffee house. In fact, the proprietor seems to care as much about creating community as she does about selling coffee. If you’ve stopped by there you know that it operates out of one of the city-owned historic houses and is a gathering place for all ages. Dunn Bros. is a busy place where you can enjoy front-porch concerts, plug in your computer and write, conduct a business meeting or simply enjoy a great cup of coffee. Senior citizens can buy a cup of coffee for a dollar and are welcome to stay all day long. Dunn Bros. is a place where people linger.
The public/private partnership between Dunn Bros. corporate and the city is one of Eden Prairie’s great success stories. This partnership has provided the city with a good reason to rehabilitate one of our historic properties to make it a viable location where a small business could thrive and where the community could gather and enjoy a sense of our city’s heritage.
Before the Smith-Douglas-More house could be used by any business, it first had to be renovated and brought up to city code. The city spent $720,000 to make the property useable. Dunn Bros. also contributed and before the doors were open, they had spent $125,000 in construction costs and architectural plans – all for a location they were only leasing. In addition, a lease agreement was made where Dunn Bros. would pay the city $320,000 in rent over five years. From 2001 until 2006, Dunn Bros. corporate invested $445,000 in rent and construction costs. These dollars have gone into recouping the $720,000 of the city’s costs for rehabilitating the Smith Douglas More house. These improvements have added greatly to the Smith-Douglas-More house, and the assessed value of the property. After the lease with Dunn Bros. corporate was up, an Eden Prairie resident, Ann Schuster, purchased the franchise and has sold coffee since 2006. But now this is in jeopardy.
Last week the majority of the City Council voted to reject the current lease of Dunn Bros. because $31,000 in annual rent was too little to pay. When Ann Schuster bought the franchise from Dunn Bros. corporate she continued paying $67,000 in rent a year. Unfortunately, the high price of the lease was inconsistent with the potential business revenue of Dunn Bros. and she was afraid she might have to close the doors on the neighborhood business. Responding to this concern, the City Council agreed to lower the rent to bring the business revenue and costs more into alignment. Rent was dropped to $31,000 for 2008. Now city staff has been directed by the City Council to find another lessee – someone who will pay more.
I wholeheartedly disagree. This local business is much more than a coffee shop. Dunn Bros. is a part of our community identity; it is a valued place that ties us to our city’s meaningful roots, providing a central meeting place while providing the city some revenue. Now is the time to recalibrate our expectations and give this business venture additional time to increase revenues before we turn the lights off and close the doors. This innovative partnership with Dunn Bros. helps make us different from every other city – and is one of the reasons Eden Prairie is considered a great city to live in.
Without imagination you can’t expect to achieve extraordinary results. The partnership between Dunn Bros. and the city is one of the reasons Eden Prairie is a vibrant and appealing community.

* Footnote: The partnership between Dunn Bros. and the city of Eden Prairie has been a model that has won the city two awards; one in 2003 from the American Institute of Architects, Minneapolis Chapter and the other an honor award from the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota.

Sherry Butcher is an Eden Prairie City Council member, former member and chair of the city’s Heritage Preservation Commission. She is running for re-election to the council this fall.