A cat cafe is coming to Raleigh in the spring of 2018. Purr Cup Cafe, owned by partners Sarah Newton and Arthur Hailey of Raleigh, will be a regular coffee shop with a twist–there will be a separate room filled with adoptable cats for patrons to play with.
“Our love of cats is really what brought us together, first as friends and eventually as a couple,” Newton explained. “We loved the idea of cat cafes ever since we first heard of them, and always thought opening one would be the coolest thing ever.”
Cat cafes are an increasingly popular trend across the United States. They exist in many major cities, such as Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. Newton and Hailey hope to be the ones to bring the first cat cafe to Raleigh.
Purr Cup has not yet begun its formal location search, but plans to begin soon.
“Ideally, we would be right downtown, but the rent there is very expensive, and parking can be difficult, so we will see what happens,” said Newton. “I’m sure we will find a great spot!”
The cafe has raised nearly $10,000 through a summer campaign on Indiegogo, a crowdfunding website, which is supplemented by funds from pop up cat cafe events. Purr Cup has partnered with Meow House Cat Rescue, a cat rescue service, which will provide cats for the cafe.
“We have several more [pop up events] in the works and we are very excited about them,” said Newton. “I think the events work well because it brings people out and gets them excited to see how great it would be to have a permanent cat cafe in Raleigh.”
Purr Cup Cafe plans to open in the spring of 2018. In the end, Newton says, their opening will be contingent on adequate funding.
“Being able to help cats find forever homes and be part of Raleigh’s exciting community of local businesses is really inspiring to us,” said Newton. “We are having a great time on this journey to opening Raleigh’s first cat cafe.”
Follow Purr Cup Cafe on Facebook to keep up with developments and upcoming events.
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