Richmond’s new cat cafe is a ‘purrfect’ addition

Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor 

Richmond’s only cat cafe, The Purrfect Bean, has officially opened for business. The cafe consists of an open-for-all coffee shop downstairs with a reservation-only cat lounge upstairs. 

The cafe had its soft launch on Aug. 10 and grand opening on Aug. 15. The openings were met with an abundant amount of business, according to Giancarlo Afable, lead barista at The Purrfect Bean. The cat reservations drive people in.

“It is a little slower during the days, but we still are getting a good amount of business,” Afable said. “It’s like, 90 people a day so far just from the cat reservations.”

The cafe is sourcing their matcha from local cart, The Exit Plan, according to Camille Proctor, The Purrfect Bean’s general manager and coffee manager. 

“Pretty much anything we can source locally, we do here,” Proctor said. “Which I think kind of sets us apart from a lot of other coffee shops.”

Purrfect Bean has partnered with Purring Hearts VA, an independent cat rescue, to help find homes for cats. All of the cats at the cafe are available for adoption.

The coffee shop features a wall of Polaroids that showcases every cat that has been adopted, along with the new owners. There is an influx in kitten adoption, however, Purring Hearts enforces a rule to ensure socialization, according to Proctor. 

“If you’re getting a kitten, then you have to get a second kitten as well. If they’re 3 months, and there’s not another animal in the home,” Proctor said. 

Reservations are currently booked out for the next week, according to Proctor. 

“We’re trying to release the schedule between like two and three weeks out in advance,” said Proctor. “We booked out really fast for sure.” 

Reservations to meet the cats are mandatory. They cost $20 per person on weekdays and $25 per person on weekends.  

The cost helps the cafe take care of the cats’ food and litter, as well as staff to care for them, as 16 cats are in the lounge at a time, according to Proctor. 

“It’s almost as if we are the foster parent for all of the cats,” Proctor said. “They’re not going home, and they’re staying here. They stay here full-time until they’re adopted.”

The adoption fees are dependent on the breed and may be more expensive for rarer breeds, according to Claire Sylvain, the cat manager at Purrfect Bean. 

“We mainly try to highlight the cats that are not as sought after,” Sylvain stated in an email. “The adoption fees to expect are $150 for one and $275 for two.” 

Purrfect Bean is open Wednesday through Sunday — the coffee shop’s hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the cat lounge is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.