Pet Puppers with Your Cuppa: NYC Gets Its First Dog Cafe
Champaw wishes and catviar dreams, baby: New York is finally getting its first dog cafe.
Follow Topics for more like this
Follow for more stories like this
After the opening of several cat cafes and even a hedgehog cafe over the past few years, the sun is finally shining on dog lovers with a new dog cafe called Boris & Horton, which is opening in the East Village in December — by combining the two spots on the corner of East 12th and Avenue A formerly occupied by Ost Cafe and Raclette.
Boris & Horton, named for father-daughter owners Coppy and Logan Holzman’s respective pooches: Boris the pit bull and Horton the terrier mix. The cafe space will be like the happy marriage of a coffeeshop, wine bar, upscale pet shop, and dog-friendly indoor lounge into one pack — all while maintaining logistics to keep health inspectors happy, including separate spaces for the cafe side and the pet lounge/pet shop side, plus soundproofing to mitigate any happy yapping (and poo patrol to keep sidewalks clean) so they can be canine good canine neighbors.
The best part? You don’t have to own a dog to love on puppers while getting your cuppa.
“It’s like basically going to someone’s nice living room with your dog, and it’s adjacent to a place where you can get all your food and coffee,” cafe owner Coppy Holzman told DNAInfo. “[But] what we found is, a lot of people like dogs and because of their circumstances can’t have one — so this is a dog-friendly place.”
The spot will also cater to those in the market for a furry friend — dog adoption events in partnership with Badass Brooklyn Animal Rescue, where co-owner Logan Holzman is a volunteer, will happen in the dog-friendly space on the weekends.
Every city dog owner knows the frustration of not wanting (or being able) to bring in or tie up your dog while you order a quick cup or bite to-go, and Boris & Horton will scratch that itch, too — staff will be on hand to momentarily keep an eye on dogs when owners need to head to the dog-free food side to place an order or hit the restroom. You can even pop into the photo booth to take a selfie with your pup, or stock up on must-have pet supplies from the shop, all in one stop.
LA’s first dog cafe has been successfully operating without incident for almost a year, so hopefully New York’s will follow suit.