PANAMA CITY — For Kerry Corley, the news that the lobby cafe at the Bay County Government Center might close is upsetting.
The employee of the Property Appraiser’s Office makes several trips a day to the cafe, saying it offers more than junk food, but healthier dishes, as well, that he needs to help nourish him for bodybuilding competitions.
“We just need it,” he told commissioners Tuesday as he pleaded with them to find a way to keep it open.
He is among the more than 100 people who signed a petition urging the county to keep the cafe open. It is regularly used by the hundreds of employees working at the Government Center on 11th Street, as well as people who attend meetings.
The current vendor, Coastal Parasail, pays $300 a month to lease the space and informed the county it did not wish to renew their lease that expires Friday. The county put out a request for a proposal for someone else to run the cafe, but no one responded.
Coastal Parasail has agreed to stay a month longer as the county seeks another vendor, but the cafe will pare back its hours of operation, said Wendi Sellers, the county’s purchasing director. She said Coastal Parasail may not stay open the entire month if someone else decides it can move into the space sooner.
The cafe supporters may be in luck.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Bay County is very interested in taking over the cafe, said club Chief Professional Officer Paul Mosca. He said the concept will be brought before the nonprofit’s board Monday. He said there have been conversations with the county about the nonprofit running the cafe without having a rent payment, but no agreement has been reached.
“I really think it’s an opportunity for the club,” Mosca said. “We haven’t reached any decision yet, but we are definitely considering it.”
He said the club could gain some positive exposure by operating the cafe.
“We think it would be a great vehicle for us to publicize our mission in Bay County by having visibility there at the county offices, and a great way to raise a little bit of extra money for our organization,” Mosca said.
The cafe also could help the nonprofit with fundraising and teach the children how to run a business, Mosca said.
“We were thinking about developing a small entrepreneurial program that would teach our teens to learn about food purchasing, cooking and how to handle the books of a small business, and acquaint them with the business world and how small entrepreneurial businesses run,” he said. “I think that is a valuable thing for our teens to learn under supervision of staff.”
Mosca said if they do take over the cafe, initially they may offer a similar basic lunch menu to what is now offered. The cafe currently offers breakfast and lunch, and serves snacks and sandwiches such as chicken salad. It also offers daily specials, such as a Buffalo chicken sandwich on Thursday.
“They have a fairly small area there, so we’re kind of limited in the cooking ability of what we actually could do,” he said. “But to be honest with you we haven’t talked about menu yet.”
Mosca said he doesn’t expect the board of the organization to be opposed to them opening the cafe, but he won’t know for sure until they meet.
“I don’t anticipate any pushback on this,” he said. “I think it’s something we’re probably going to do.”