Arizona’s first cat cafe moved from Tempe to downtown Phoenix. This new location advertises more space for the cats, events, a new coffee shop area, storage, parking and a patio.
Missy Pruitt, one of the owners of La Gattara Cat Cafe, has always had cat rescuing in her blood. Her father, a sheriff from a small Illinois town, often fed and rescued stray alley cats.
“(Pruitt) loved the idea that cats can get out of the stressful environment of a shelter, and into a safe place where they can roam free, relax, and receive healthy attention,” the cafe’s website said.
Pruitt also drew inspiration from cat cafes in Japan, as well as the owners of Cat Town Cafe, the first cat cafe in the United States. After about three years, La Gattara opened its original location in Tempe.
“I had been following the guy who had opened it and I actually went to their cafe opening weekend and was like, yup, this is what Arizona needs. So then I decided to open a cat cafe,” Pruitt said. “Initially, I wanted to be in Old Town Scottsdale and then they gave me a lot of hassle. And I lived in Tempe and Tempe ended up being super amazing.”
La Gattara closed their doors in April, due to the completion of their lease and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We took it as an opportunity to find a bigger location, which has made it different for us to get a bigger space and more things to offer the local community,” Pruitt said.
Initially, Pruitt and co-owner Carrie Seay were looking to open up their new location in Tempe but ran into problems with parking and permits. With the help of a realtor, they found their new location on 2nd St and Garfield in Phoenix.
On December 3rd, La Gattara Cat Cafe will have their first use permit hearing to be approved to have cats in the new space. Once the use permit is approved, along with other permits, they can begin their new build-out.
“We’re anticipating early 2021. We’re hoping for a January to February timeframe before we’ll be able to open,” Seay said.
The larger space will not only allow La Gattara to hold more cats but allow for more COVID-19 precautions to be put in place.
One of the biggest changes that Pruitt and Seay are looking forward to is the edition of a full coffee bar with a barista. Another is the addition of a private room for parties, paint nights, or other events without having to close down the entire store.
“The nice thing about this large of a space is there’s plenty of room for social distancing. Our main cat area-the cat lounge is a big open room so we’ll be able to easily limit the number of people that come in,” Seay said.
La Gattara is also encouraging patrons to wear masks while having hand sanitizer readily available.
In addition to their new location change, La Gattara is also in the process of becoming a 501(c)(3) non-profit. They are asking their supporters and patrons for volunteering or monetary donations to assist with the build-out.
“Once we open, we’ll be asking for volunteers to help with the cat’s space, cleaning, and socialization. We’re always looking for people to volunteer either their time, efforts, whatever they’re able to donate to us,” Seay said.
Pruitt and Seay are hopeful that this move to this downtown community will allow them to help the cats not only currently in their care, but people within the downtown area.
“We really want to expand outside of our walls with this new location to get more hands involved with the community,” Pruitt said.
Contact the reporter at [email protected].
"cafe" - Google News
November 09, 2020 at 08:30AM
https://ift.tt/3eDyvs7
Local cat cafe moves to downtown Phoenix - Downtown Devil
"cafe" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2FkbMR3
https://ift.tt/3c4yPxW
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25244079/4.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment