Cat Lovers Look to Open RI’s First Cat Cafe
Friday, May 08, 2015
The Purrfect Cup Café and Cat Room, where customers can enjoy a cup of coffee side-by-side with their cats, is scheduled to open early in 2016 in Providence.
Cat lovers Zack Durbin and Sarah Brown came up with the idea last year when they moved to South Korea to teach English.
“Durbin and Brown want to provide a safe and happy space for cats and cat lovers,” according to their website.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“We hope the cat room will be a friendly, clean and warm space for both the cats and our customers. We want to create an atmosphere that is interactive and develop a sense of community with our customers.” said Brown.
Durbin and Brown are trying to crowdsource $25,000 to help them start the cafe through an Indiegogo page, which can be found HERE.
Popular Around the World
First made popular in Asian countries like Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, cat cafes have been popping up in California, Portland, London and New York of late.
“We knew that cat cafes were all over Korea and Japan and, being cat lovers, we knew we would love them. What we didn't expect was that we would fall in love with the idea of opening our own," according to their website.
Durbin and Brown plan on rescuing up to 20 cats from local animal shelters to provide them with a home and encourage cat adoptions.
The Rhode Island Food Code does not allow animals on the premises of any food establishment. To comply with the code, the Durbin and Brown said there will be two separate but adjoining areas. The cafe will be cat free and solely focus on serving coffee. The Cup Cat Room will be separate from the food establishment. All food and drink preparation will be separated from the cats. Customers have the option to bring a beverage into The Cat Room. Or, they can visit the Cat Room and skip the café.
“We promise to provide a safe, comfortable and clean space for you and for our cats,” they wrote on their website.
There will be a limit to the number of visitors to The Cat Room and rules on interacting with the cats.
“We think our cafe will be well-received in RI and especially Providence due to the large amount of university students and young professionals who may have grown up with their own cats at home but are no longer able to have a pet. We also love the quirky feel of Providence, and think our quirky cafe will fit right in,” said Brown.
Related Slideshow: 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - May 5
Calling all animal lovers!
If you're on the lookout for a new pet for you or your family, look no further.
Related Articles
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - Jan. 6
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - Dec. 23
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes- Jan. 13
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - Jan. 20
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes- Jan. 27
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - Dec. 16
- 10 Great Pets In Need of Loving Homes - Dec 9
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - Nov. 11
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes-Nov 18th
- 10 Great Pets In Need of Loving Homes - Nov. 25
- 10 Great Pets In Need of Loving Homes - Dec 2
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - February 3
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - Feb. 11
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - April 7
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - March 31
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - April 14
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - April 21
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - April 28
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - March 24
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - March 17
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - Feb. 24
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - March 3
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - March 10
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - May 5
- 10 Great Pets in Need of Loving Homes - Feb. 17
- Report: 1 in 7 RI Households Can’t Afford Food
- Fresh Local Food for Thanksgiving in RI
- RI Health Department Releases 10 Food Safety Tips for the Holidays
- B&G Foods Issues Allergy Alert, Recalls Taco Products
- Narragansett Council Boy Scouts Has Collected 8 Million Pounds of Food in 27 Years
- Rhode Island Community Food Bank Competes for $60,000 Grant
- Rhode Island’s Best Comfort Food
- Boy Scouts Announce “Scouting for Food” Drive in RI
- DownCity Named One of 10 Hot Food Neighborhoods in US
- Johnny Cakes, RI’s Comfort Food
- Hope & Main to Host Organic Food Conference
- Ocean State Job Lot Donates 630,000 lbs of Food to Area Pantries
- 5 Fermented Foods You Need to Add to Your Diet
- St. Joseph’s Fresh Food Distribution Program to Hold Anniversary Celebration
- Leather Storrs: The Undeniable Politics of Food
- Kraft Food Group Recalls 242,000 Cases of Mac & Cheese
- NEW: Teamsters Organize Workers at Daniele Foods in RI
- NEW: Providence Community Library Waives Fines for Overdue Books for Food Bank Fundraiser
- Leather Storrs: Hijacking Recipes in the Food Community
- Leather Storrs: Foraging for Food
- NEW: Teamsters to Picket Eat Drink RI Over Daniele Foods