Alexandria's First Cat Café Seeks Approval To Open

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria will be getting its first cat café, which will combine food and drink service with separate areas featuring adoptable cats. Mount Purrnon Cat Café and Wine Bar applied for a special use permit from the city to open at 109 South Alfred Street.

Headed by Kristin Cowan, Mount Purrnon will act as a foster space for up to 15 adoptable cats from the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. Cats would be on first and second floor areas, while the separate café would be on the first floor. The pets will live at the property until adopted or if it's deemed appropriate to return them to the shelter.

Café offerings would include pre-packaged food, beer and wine in shatterproof containers. The cat areas will be open to customers to interact with the adoptable pets. Customers can bring food and drink into the cat areas, but cats are not allowed in the café area.

The business is following a few recommendations from the city's health department. There would be a 20 customer per hour limit to ensure cats are not overwhelmed. Drinks will be in shatterproof containers to ensure customers and cats are not injured. The cat area will have at least one staff member at all times to monitor the cats, and an emergency vet would be on call through the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. The cat area would be cleaned hourly to address odors from litter boxes.

City staff recommended approval given that the cat café follows the recommended conditions. "The proposed use would introduce the first cat café to the City of Alexandria, a business model that has risen in popularity recently in neighboring municipalities, stated a staff report. "The applicant’s proposal for an innovative, independent restaurant in this section of Old Town complies with the King Street Retail Strategy goals."

Cat café have begun appearing in the DC region. Crumbs and Whiskers in Georgetown has helped over 1,400 cats get adopted, while Meows Corner recently opened in Sterling.

Proposed hours for Mount Purrnon are 12 p.m.–6 p.m. on Sundays, 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. on Saturdays. It will be closed Tuesdays. The business is planning for a spring opening, according to its website.

The Planning Commission hearing is set for Jan. 7. If approved, the proposal goes to City Council on Jan. 25.