Cat Cafés Are Out, Cat Bars Are In


Over the past few years, the emergence of the cat café trend has proven that kitties and caffeine can mix. But what about crossing felines with fine wines? A planned bar in Denver is hoping to find out.

Sana Hamelin recently launched a Kickstarter for the Denver Cat Bar, which she’s billing as “America’s first cat bar!” (exclamation hers). Hamelin isn’t new to crossing cats and beverages: 18 months ago she opened the Denver Cat Company, Denver’s first cat café. With her latest project, she’s hoping to “next level” the cat café concept by creating another location with an atmosphere more akin to “a laid-back wine bar, (with great craft beer, too).”

Though a location has yet to be secured and the projected delivery date isn’t slated until March 2017, Hamelin is already outlining a number of reasons why a cat bar trumps a cat café. Beyond simply offering booze, the bigger drink margins she can make selling alcohol means the Cat Bar wouldn’t need to charge a cover fee to get in. Plus, “Cats are more active and playful at night, just like their human counterparts.” Give the kitties some catnip and you could end up with an all-out rager.

With 24 days left to go on the campaign, the Denver Cat Bar has already gotten over 100 backers, though that’s translated into only about a tenth of Hamelin’s stated $60,000 goal. If mixing animals and alcohol makes you antsy, Hamelin promises, “Kitty safety always comes first.” But more importantly, she claims that the Denver Cat Company racked up 150 adoptions in its first year and a half. If a cat bar could keep numbers like that going, it seems like it would be a big win for the cats of Denver.

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