KitTea, the SF Cat Cafe, Finally Snags a Location

Cats are coming soon to a Hayes Valley near you. After months of real-estate searching and contract struggles, KitTea, which will be San Francisco's first cat cafe, has signed a lease on a space at Gough and Page. Co-founder Courtney Hatt tells Hoodline that she expects to spend another 3-4 months on the buildout, which would put KitTea's opening in December or January. As previously discussed, the space will offer a variety of teas, including a custom blend, and cafe fare like pastries, sandwiches, and salads. All that will be kept in a separate room from the "cat lounge," though patrons are welcome to bring in their snacks and drinks if they wish.

In the cat lounge, 10-12 resident felines will come from local rescue centers, with screenings to ensure their personalities are compatible with the day-to-day of being around numerous people. Hatt also wants to facilitate adoptions, so the ranks may change up from time to time; she also plans to offer a variety of cat ages, from older kittens to senior cats who are harder to adopt out. They're hoping to get a permit to stay open until 9 pm as an alternative to bars, and Hatt is also putting together an online reservations system, which should launch approximately a month before the cafe does (and which we're sure will book up quickly). With Oakland's Cat Town Cafe set to debut next month, we're entering peak cat cafe in the Bay Area.

· Cat Cafe KitTea Snags Hayes Valley Location [~ ESF ~]
· SF Cat Cafe KitTea Still Struggling with Space and Funding [~ ESF ~]
· Oakland's Cat Cafe, Cat Town Cafe, Snags a Location [~ ESF ~]