Philly’s First Kitty Café Opening in Queen Village
There’s a new kind of café opening on Fabric Row next month —one where the cats roam free.
The Kawaii Kitty Café will be the first cat café in Philadelphia and it will foster about 10-15 kittens and cats in need of a home. In other words, not only will you be able to stop by for a drink and a snack, but you can get your cat fix as well.
The idea started when Kristin Eissler was traveling overseas for her previous job and noticed that cat cafés were abundant—especially in Japan—and they were successful. After leaving her stressful corporate job and in need of a change, Eissler decided that it was time for Philly to have its own cat café.
Last May, Eissler made an Indiegogo account to raise the funds needed to create the café, and it was 100% funded by the end of August. The biggest hit for supporters was the $25 “Cat Yoga Class,” where yogi cat lovers can get together and do their favorite poses in the company of cats. If yoga isn’t your thing but you have a hatred for your ex, for $15 you can have your exes name written inside the café litter box (in sharpie, so it isn’t going anywhere).
Kawaii Kitty Cafe will consist of a main café and then a separate cat room, where customers can take their food and drinks to hang out with the adoptable, free-roaming cats. There is a $5 entry fee per half hour for the cat room, which goes towards supplies needed to ensure that the cats have a comfortable living space until they find a new home. Eissler wants to keep the amount of people in the cat room controlled in order to prevent stress onto the cats, so a reservation is needed to enter.
Eissler teamed up with PAWS Philadelphia to create this unique experience for customers looking to adopt so they can spend time with the cats in a fun, comfortable space. If someone would like to adopt a cat, all of the paperwork and fees will go through PAWS.
As far as the food goes, there will be plenty of local baked goods served including pastries from The Sweet Life, South Street Bagels, vegan pastries from Miss Rachel’s Pantry, and La Columbe coffee. Customers can come and go through the main café without paying the $5 fee.
Beef the cat in the window of what will be Kawaii Cat Cafe.
Cat lovers are already swarming social media, giving the Kawaii, meaning “cute,” café five stars on Facebook before it even opens. Eissler said that the café, which is set to open mid to early February, already has two cat yoga classes planned, but the dates aren’t set just yet. She has other ideas on her mind as well, like cat and wine parties, movie nights, and painting classes where you can paint—you guessed it—cats.
Eissler is already anticipating that their current space, located at 759 South 4th Street, will be outgrown quickly and they’ll need to move somewhere bigger. For now, she wants to see how things go with the café once it opens, but one thing she is certain of is that her cat, Beef, approves of it.
Kawaii Kitty Café [Facebook]
