Once upon a time, in downtown Plant City, there was an unassuming old building at 202 S. Collins St. that housed a law office. The attorney helped his clients with their legal troubles but eventually moved out of the space.
Enter three high school seniors Ella Collert, Jordan Price and Rio Carlisle, who’ve been friends since the sixth grade and who share a similar interest: a passion for their furry friends and hearts wanting to find homes for stray kitties.
The girls had already rescued as many cats as their own families could handle but they wanted to do more. “We wanted to rescue every single cat that we came across but we had too many cats in our houses,” said Collert. “We all have bleeding hearts for cats and wanted to come up with a solution.”
That’s when they came up with an idea: Catnip Cafe and Adoption Lounge- a place where people could sip on coffee and tea and enjoy the company of adorable, adoptable cats who are microchipped, vaccinated and spayed or neutered. “Sometimes people feel a lot of pressure to adopt because they feel sorry for the cats,” said Collert. “At our cat cafe, you’ll be able to hang out without pressure to adopt, we want to make sure the families these cats are going to are going to love them.”
These enterprising teenagers, with the help of Collert’s mom Desiree, started to hash out the details about forming a nonprofit for the purpose of re-homing cats. They partnered with Raining Cats and Dogs Shelter and Sanctuary who will provide the cats that will call the adoption lounge their temporary home.
In true Plant City style, community business leaders rallied to support the girls’ idea.
“The real encouragement was getting the first loan to start this from a good friend and big animal lover Andrea Smith,” said Desiree Collert. “It was amazing of her to believe in this idea.”
When it came time to shop around for space to rent, there were several spaces they visited, including the former Tipsy Bookworm space, but when they walked into the space on Collins St., they could see its potential right away. “It had the space to make the lounge and cafe comfortable, for the cats and for customers and it was the perfect situation to have the Hollenkamps involved because they were excited about our concept,” said Desiree Collert, who also helped the girls with completing the required paperwork to gain nonprofit status and obtain the required permits.
Construction is ongoing in the space, which is being redesigned from its law office layout to a more cafe-friendly space. A separate enclosed area is being constructed for the cat lounge, where visitors will pay a small fee to enter the lounge and hang out with the felines. “We really appreciate the help we’ve been receiving from the community, who are doing the work in the cafe to get it ready,” said Collert. “It seems like every single thing we’ve had to do there’s been someone willing to help and get involved.”
The cafe will sell herbal teas, coffee and beer and wine. It will also offer charcuterie boards so customers can nibble on a variety of meats, cheeses and other sweet and savory bites. “We want everything to be locally sourced and community-based,” said Collert.
Catnip Cafe and Adoption Lounge will also offer a volunteer program for high schoolers needing service hours. “You can get community service hours by helping us and don’t worry, we won’t make you change the kitty litter, we really want you to be here, have a good time and help with the cats,” she said.
Their goal is to be open by Sept. 23, the day of the Oktoberfest event.
Its anticipated hours will be Wednesday and Thursday 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information about Catnip Cafe and Adoption Lounge follow their Instagram @catnipcafepc.
