Calling all cat lovers, espresso lovers, and floriculture lovers — Flower Cat is about to grow to be your new go-to spot.
Tucked away, however nonetheless close to and expensive to the bustle of Manhattan Avenue in its location at 162 Noble St., Flower Cat is proprietor and florist Suzanne Agbayani’s ode to a few of her favourite issues: flowers and her two rescue cats, Shrimp and Lilith. A former architectural and inside designer, Agbayani left the structure world a 12 months in the past to pursue floral design, which blossomed into the thought for a restaurant and floral store earlier this 12 months.
Despite first areas in Nolita and Fort Greene, it was the 162 Noble spot that she fell in love with at first sight, prompting her to maneuver from Manhattan to Greenpoint quickly after and get to work.
“This is my baby,” Agbayani defined. “I want it to feel lived in—my friend said it feels like my living room.”
Aside from the anticipated components like contemporary flowers and a restaurant counter setup, the store is furnished with numerous antiques both handed down from members of the family, from Agbayani’s personal home, or sourced regionally like ornamental finish tables from Mother of Junk and a counter manufactured from discarded tables from Brooklyn Brewery.
And whereas it’s been quietly open since September 8, Flower Cat is celebrating its official grand opening on Friday, September 22. From 8 a.m. (when the cafe opens) till 11 p.m., Greenpointers can expertise one of the best of every thing the cafe has to supply, from specialty drinks to flowers to freebies.
Signature drinks embrace rose pistachio and honey lavender lattes specifically crafted by poet, author, and barista Savannah James, who Agbayani acknowledges “keeps the place running” whereas slinging espresso and locally-sourced baked items (just like the best-selling cinnamon rolls from Bushwick Bakery) in equal measure.
And in the case of the flowers, which has all the time been Agbayani’s dream medium, the flower fridge behind the area accommodates a mixture of pet-safe choices, brights, and extra muted picks, significantly these with a extra classic, romantic really feel that can “look good dead” (an necessary distinction).
Despite the grand opening not even occurring but, the neighborhood reception has been as cozy because the area is. Agbayani revels within the mixture of households, building employees, longtime Polish residents, and even smoke store purveyors who come by the area (even when simply to look within the window), and recalled a recent dialog with a neighbor who remarked that “we haven’t had somewhere as cozy in a while.”
The objective for Flower Cat is to maintain group connections going, from a grand opening efficiency from the Greenpoint String Quartet to ideally collaborating with Greenpoint Cats and different rescues on a specialty drink with proceeds serving to their trigger. Other bodily targets embrace filling up the entire gallery wall, together with grab-and-go flowers, creating astrology-inspired bouquets by signal, and using a bit extra out of doors area. And, after all, all the time leaning into the cat theme.
“I want people to sit and stay awhile,” Agbayani mentioned. “I want to encourage lounging like a cat.”
