‘The cat’s out of the bag’: Richmond’s first cat café is on the way
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Get ready for a purrfectly good time as Richmond's first ever cat café is set to launch its grand opening on Friday, August 15.
Located at 214 North Lombardy St., The Purrfect Bean is set to become the cat's meow. The café will feature several menu items such as, coffees, teas, espresso drinks, drip coffee, donuts, seasonal specials and cat themed drinks.
The Purrfect Bean cat Café: Photo courtesy of 8News Nia McMillan
Owner, Michelle Langham, told 8News why she decided to bring this cat café to Richmond.
"There was a giant hole in the market in Richmond, there's no, there was no cat café here, and it's such an amazing city," Langham said.
The Purrfect Bean Café: Photo courtesy of 8News Nia McMillan
Langham, originally from Nova, and her husband, have been long time animal lovers and did a lot of fostering and volunteering with cats and dogs prior to Langham opening the café.
In 2022, she and her husband decided to move to Powhatan -- into a space that offered more room for the animals.
"We sold our house in Vienna, moved out there, and we rescued a bunch of animals, so we have chickens, we have donkeys, I mean, lots of cats and dogs," Langham said.
The Purrfect Bean Café: Photo courtesy of 8News Nia McMillan
The Purrfect Bean Café: Photo courtesy of 8News Nia McMillan
Langham added that, "when we moved here, I started working for the SPCA and really got involved in animal rescue, and, yeah, from there, [I] was there almost three years, and this idea formed and I was like, you know, I could do, I could do this."
In terms of getting the cat café up and running for a claw-some time, Langham said:
"I first started reaching out to other cat cafes, so I reached out to them on social media, and a couple of them were extremely helpful and talked to me on the phone and all of my questions."
She then added "the next step was, I reached out to small business owners in Richmond. So I sat down with a couple different people, I was like, what is this going to look like? What are my challenges going to be? What neighborhoods are best? So I just started collecting information."
Beyond her love of animals, the café also serves as a refuge for the animals as they work in partnership with Purring Cats VA, an organization aimed at helping cats find new homes.
"We're hoping to support Purring Hearts by keeping a number of their cats here, getting them adopted, raising funds for Purring hearts, also, just education maybe. We want to do some classes and teach people, why spaying, [and] neutering is important," Langham shared.
According to the business owner, there is currently a cat overpopulation crisis which is especially present in the Richmond area. Langham said she hopes to mitigate this by getting more cats adopted and into homes.
The Purrfect Bean Café: Photo courtesy of 8News Nia McMillan
"We are technically fostering the house for them. They're our partner organization, and they pull cats that are directly in danger of euthanasia," she said.
According to Langham, their rescue partner, Purring Hearts, also partners with smaller, overcrowded and non-funded shelters, and when those spaces become full, they then have to euthanize the animals for space.
"They'll call Laura, who's the head of Purring Hearts, and she will find people to pick them up and distribute them to foster homes. So providing space for them here directly save[s] their lives," Langham said.
Langham also said that as a business owner, saving the cats has made her feel good, "It's the whole reason why I started this. We did two adoptions on our first off opening day, it feels really good."
Whether you're looking to adopt a furry friend or get a cup of coffee, The Purrfect Bean offers both.
The Purrfect Bean Café: Photo courtesy of 8News Nia McMillan
The Purrfect Bean Café: Photo courtesy of 8News Nia McMillan
The Purrfect Bean Café: Photo courtesy of 8News Nia McMillan
The business operates Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Reservations are needed for the cat portion of the café located upstairs, however, for their in-house baked goods and drinks, no reservation is required.
Reservations for time with the furry friends starts at 15 minutes.
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