Baltimore's coffee queen

Donna Crivello left The Sun in 1991 to enter the restaurant business. Today, with seven full-service cafes and coffee bars in Baltimore, one carry-out coffee bar in White Marsh and a full-service restaurant in Washington, she rules the local java market. But the Bibelot bankruptcy is cutting into her business. SunSpot caught up with her recently to find out how she is adapting.

Four of your cafes are in Bibelot bookstores. How are you dealing with their imminent demise?

It’s been pretty unsettling. They are putting up giant signs that say they are going out of business. It’s disconcerting and it sends a message to our customers that we are going out of business, too. We’ve had to do a lot of damage control, letting people know we are still going to be around. We are just waiting for the next phase of this, which will be Bibelot moving out and, as was reported in the paper, there’s a pretty good chance that Borders will be coming in.

Would you stay in those locations? Doesn't Borders have its own coffee bar?

They do, but this will be a new venture for them because we’re established and everyone wants us to stay there.

Do you have an agreement with them?

Nothing is signed yet, but we’ve talked. There’s so much that still needs to be worked out. We had early conversations and now we just have to sit and wait until the Bibelot thing is over.

Have you noticed a drop in business at the Bibelot locations?

Yes, we have. For different reasons, I think. Some is that people think that we are closing, too. And then the other thing is people don’t like coming into a place that’s going out of business. You never really know exactly why, but it has put a dent in the overall sales.

From what I have read, Borders is only interested in the county locations. What are the plans for the space in Canton and Cross Keys?

I don’t know. I do know that the people who own the property are really trying hard to find a good fit and somebody who would add something to the properties. But nobody has said who is coming in.

The Bibelot locations in the city were losing money. Have you noticed a similar trend for the cafes?

Canton didn’t have as much traffic as Timonium and Pikesville, but Cross Keys was totally the opposite. It was one of our busiest places and still is.

How big a part of your business were those Bibelot locations?

Pretty significant--four locations and three of them were some of our top sales spots. Pikesville, Timonium and Cross Keys pretty much had a steady flow. It has been a significant issue.

Are you worried that you might have to close any locations?

We would rather not ever close anything. We just have to sit and wait and see what happens and evaluate it in the next couple of weeks. [Donna's has since closed its Canton location]

How much of a threat to your business are the national chains like Starbucks?

Starbucks has expanded in certain areas, but they haven’t really affected us in terms of being strong competition. I think it’s because we have the food component. Also, a lot of people tell us they like the taste of our coffee better. Partly, too, people tell me it’s the environment. Donna’s is a more personal environment. People know me, that sort of thing. I don’t think they have taken a lot of our business away.

Do you still have more outlets locally than Starbucks?