GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Cats and coffee under one roof, Michigan's first cat café is expected to open in Grand Rapids this October!
Still in the planning stages, a Kickstarter campaign was announced Tuesday for the Happy Cate Café: a unique experience where you will be able to enjoy your morning cup of coffee with a cat in your lap. Kati and Eddie Palmurkar, Co-founders of Happy Cat Cafe, say their cat cafe will differ from others by giving people the chance to adopt the cats.
"We will foster for them ten adoptable cats that you can come in and actually take them with you," said Palmurkar.
It's a partnership Jen Self-Aulgur, Director of Education and Programs for the Humane Society, is looking forward to if the cafe becomes a reality.
"We’re really excited to see what she is able to do," said Jen Self-Aulgur. "And if it gets up and running, we’ll be more than happy."
Palmurkar said the cat cafe will eliminate problems with cats in cages, shelters and the euthanization of unwanted cats. The Happy Cat Cafe's future site is expected in the 800 block of Michigan Ave., where there's talk of offering cat yoga classes, children's events, and animal-related parties.
"We need really nice baristas because we’d like to do some nice latté art, like cat latté art," said Palmurkar.
The cafe's Kickstarter campaign began Tuesday: hoping to raise $25,000 by September 23, offering exclusive t-shirts and Happy Cat Cafe deals.
Palmurkar said fair-trade coffee will be out-sourced from Costa Rica and India, served alongside pastries made locally. A combination Palmurkar understands to be the 'purrfect' place for both coffee and cat lovers alike.
If you're wondering about health and sanitary concerns, they're planning to have the coffee side of the cafe separated from the cat side. But they'll still need approval from the health inspector before it can open.
The cafe is expected to open their doors on Oct. 29, which is National Cat Day. For more information on how you can get involved, click on the linksin this page.
