By now, you’ve probably heard of all those pop-up, themed cafes in Japan which (as the name suggests) are temporary and offer special, limited-time-only menu options. If not, then trust me when I say they can get awfully creative. We’ve seen everything from Hello Kitty cafes to Owl cafes, but most popular of all has got to be cat themed cafes. Now if you’re a cat-lover in Los Angeles, you may have been envious of Japan’s cat-friendly cafes. Well, we have good news for you.
Take your keys and drive yourself over to Chinatown for (you guessed it) a pop-up cat cafe. Yes, this is actually happening, but for a limited time.
31-year-old Carlos Wong was inspired to create his own cat cafe after living in Tokyo last year, where cat-culture and cat cafes have been gaining wide popularity for several years. In fact, Tokyo is said to have at least 39 cat cafes. So Wong decided that it was about time we have one of these for ourselves and cleverly named it Catfe.
So what exactly is this cat cafe? It’s a place where visitors can enjoy a nice brewed coffee and all sorts of desserts with the company of cats! And yes, you can pet them as much as you want.
Though this pop-up cat cafe is only available until Sunday, October 5, from 4 to 9 p.m., Wong is planning on opening a permanent location in Little Tokyo once it raises $250,000 in funds. For now, the Catfe is free for all visitors, unless you want to make a reservation for $30 that allows you to have priority access to Catfe on the day of your reservation. For those who want more intimate alone time with cats can pay $125.
Check out Catfe’s website for more information. Catfe is located at Far East Plaza, 727 N. Broadway, Chinatown.
–STORY BY MICHELLE KIM
