The public will have the opportunity to get a sneak peek at Springfield’s first cat café during an open house for The Cats’ Pyjamas, 413 E. Adams St., from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1.
Samantha Enz said she and her husband, Tom Raymond, are still working out the final details but wanted to give the public a chance to see the renovations that have taken place.
“We wanted to showcase our
space so that people can come in and see what it’s going to be like,” Enz said.
The Cats’
Pyjamas will initially occupy the front room of the building between Café Moxo
and The Elf Shelf Books & Music that was most recently home to Out on Adams.
People will pay a small admission fee and have the opportunity to interact with
cats on the premises, which will all be adoptable.
While Enz had
initially hoped to have 10-15 cats occupying the café at a time, she said there
will be four felines starting out. “That’s the most you can have as a foster,”
Enz said. “We’re still waiting for some clarification from the Department of Agriculture.
Cat cafes are such a new thing, they’re trying to figure out how they want to
handle it.”
The couple are
also in the process of hiring staff. “We’re still working out what our official
hours are going to be; Tom and I both work full-time jobs,” Enz said. “The goal
is to be open from 6 a.m.-8 p.m., seven days a week.”
While the cats
will not be mingling during the open house, in order not to overwhelm the
resident felines, Enz plans to have a variety of local vendors present. Schlo-Food,
Itty Bitty Micro Farm and 3 Cats & a Corgi will all be offering handmade products,
in addition to a craft table from Creative Reuse Marketplace and merchandise
from The Cats’ Pyjamas.
