The future ‘cat cafe,’ Mauhaus, announced in July by Ben Triola and Dana Huth, co-founders of Rampant Interactive in Maplewood, is set to open in Maplewood next year, they said Saturday on Fox 2 News.
Huth said to expect a soft opening in late summer, early fall 2016. They didn’t mention a specific location on Fox, but Triola said Saturday on Twitter (@bentriola) that the unit is occupied now, but will be on “south Sutton.”
“It’s just like a regular cafe, only cats live there,” Huth said. “They’ve been popular in Asia since the 90s. You go in, get your coffee, and hang out with some cats. Cats are actually very therapeutic, they’re relaxing. It’s just a nice place to go and be calm.”
She said if you find a cat you fall in love with at the cafe you can adopt it. They’re adoptable from Tenth Life Cat Rescue. “The whole goal is to get more cats adopted,” she said.
See also: Maplewood business owners plan to open a ‘cat cafe’
A close-up shot focused on a bag of tea from Traveling Tea, a Maplewood business partnering with Mauhaus.
See the video of the announcement from Fox 2 News.
In reality, the cats will be in charge, and they will merely tolerate humans having coffee and sandwiches in their cafe.
It sounds purr-fect! Couldn’t resist!
Thanks Joe.
Cool addition to our diverse biz district. Question: any health-dept issues in play here? Wondering what they are, and how the owners are addressing them.
I believe the company has previously commented on this. There are concerns but the way it is addressed is by opening two “separate” spaces – one selling beverages, the other a cat adoption – and then connecting them with a doorway. Something along that line. I think the owners are creating a design to push the limit of what is allowable to make it feel less separate.
The owners also have already been in discussions with the health department in order to address all and any issues from the onset.