Morning Blend now Crack of Dawn
By Paul DelGuidice
For the Villa Park Independent
The story is true, but the name has been changed to protect the caffeinated.
Commuters using the Metra Station on Ardmore Ave. in Villa Park will still be able to get their morning coffee before boarding the train, but the Morning Blend Coffee shop in the station will now be known as “The Crack of Dawn.”
The Village Board approved a lease agreement with T&D Coffee, Ltd. to allow the new owners to continue offering coffee and snacks on weekday mornings at the venue. Former store manager Toula Freberg is moving out of state and has turned the business over to Dawn Larson, who has managed the shop for the last three years.
“For some time The Morning Blend has been in the Metra Station and has done a nice job, treating the customers nicely, paying the rent, etc.” said Village Manager Richard Keehner.
The new lease is for five years at $130 per month.
“This is not an easy establishment to keep rented,” said Keehner. “There have been some changes to train traffic in recent years. Trains going to Chicago now board on the south side of the tracks, not on the north side next to the station.”
This change has ‘really affected’ the coffee shop’s business, according to Keehner.
“We as a community receive over 200 trains a day, commuter and freight,” he said. “I have been notified Metra is expanding stops at Elmhurst and Lombard (soon), and possibly Villa Park in the future.”
Trustee Nick Cuzzone asked if a pedestrian overpass could be built to ease movement across the tracks for commuters as well as enhance safety.
“Staff has discussed that,” said Keehner. “Glen Ellyn is pursuing [a pedestrian overpass] and the cost of that is between $3- and $5-million.”
Village President Debora Bullwinkel said she had met with U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and put this on his radar in an effort to secure Federal funding for an overpass.
“This is a long-term thing, however,” she said.
In the meantime, commuters can still count on getting their morning coffee at the Metra Station.
“It’s nice to see an existing business continuing on,” Bullwinkel said.
