There’s a brand new cafe coming to Santa Clara the place your take-home field may simply be a cat.
At Nabi Cat Cafe, not solely can company play with and pet the cats, they’ll undertake them as effectively. The Korean-inspired cafe is partnering with San Jose Animal Care Center to be a foster home for cats and can serve human company trending Korean drinks, resembling cotton candy-ade and tiramisu lattes, and meals, like waffles and pastries. Co-founders Christine Hedeen and Ailee Kim are sisters-in-laws with a ardour for rescue animals, they usually goal to open their cafe late summer season or early fall.
“We want our space to be a place where people can relax and de-stress and potentially find a cat that can change their life in the same way our rescue animals changed ours,” Hedeen mentioned.
The inspiration for Nabi Cat Cafe got here from Hedeen’s rescue cat Misu, given the title “chief inspurration officer.” Hedeen, a San Mateo resident, didn’t develop up with any pets, however in a while discovered her love for the pet business whereas working in merchandising for the pet meals aisle at Safeway, a company job she presently works in.
“I feel like I get in my head a lot and I’m a huge overthinker,” Hedeen mentioned. “(Misu) is just so content, and all she cares about is her next meal and going to sleep. And I think it has made me want to strive to live a more simple life with her.”
Hedeen and Kim met a few yr or two after Kim and Hedeen’s brother started courting.
“I’m the older sister, so of course, I was like, ‘Who is this girl?’” Hedeen mentioned. “But Ailee really turned out to be one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life. She’s so calm and collected and just has such a good heart. And so it was a joy to bring her into the family.”
Kim, a San Jose native, graduated from San Jose State University with a level in hospitality, beforehand working at a sushi restaurant, a Marriott resort and a curry restaurant. She presently works as a barista at Blue Bottle Coffee and is utilizing her background in meals and beverage to create a Korean-inspired meals and drinks menu.
Both Hedeen and Kim are Korean-American and goal to ascertain the primary Korean-inspired cat cafe in America. Not solely will the meals and drinks be Korean, however the decor and general ambiance might be as effectively, “almost cottage core,” Kim mentioned.
“What we’re trying to go for is comfortable (and) cozy, and most of all we just want to make it a cat haven, comfortable for us, but also for the cats as well,” Kim mentioned.
Nabi Cat Cafe plans to function on a timed entry payment system, the place one ticket permits a visitor an hour on the cafe and one complimentary drink that may be upgraded to a premium drink with a further cost. Hours of operation possible will begin round 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. and shut round 6 p.m. or 7 p.m., though plans are nonetheless being finalized. Nabi Cat Cafe plans to supply scholar reductions as effectively.
“(We’re) trying to get as many cats that need to find a home adopted out,” Kim mentioned. “(We want to be) a relaxing haven for not only cats, but also for humans who are seeking it, because cats can give a lot of that relaxation and just calming environment for people.”
Nabi Cat Cafe, 2255 The Alameda, Santa Clara. Instagram: @nabicatcafe.
