GLASTONBURY, CT — A cat cafe is coming to Glastonbury.
The cafe is the vision of Beth Drazak, who’s been an area financial adviser for the past 24 years, but has had a great affection for cats and their welfare ever since she adopted Marcie in 1995.They spent 11 years together.
It will be named Marcie’s Angels Cat Cafe.
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“I call it my pre-retirement passion project,” Drazak told Patch during a Wednesday phone interview. “I visited a New Haven cat cafe (last year) and was told everything I needed to know about them. After that, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head.”
This week, conversion work at 3039 Main Street was under way. That’s a spot in a plaza near PetSmart vacated by a barber shop, which relocated nearby. The cafe is on the Glastonbury side of the plaza that straddles the East Hartford town line.
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Drazak is hoping for a mid-to-late-summer opening.
The 1,500-square-foot space will be able to accommodate a cafe on one end and a lounge for humans to visit eight-to-10 cats being fostered at the location. In other words, patrons will be able to buy a coffee and a snack and hang out with the cats. The goal, Drazak said, is to get them adopted.
The cost is $15 for a 50-minute slot to play with the cats, Drazak said. East Hartford-based Protectors of Animals, for which Drazak volunteers, will handle adoptions.
“That ensures that the cats will be fully vetted — including behavioral screening,” Drazak said. “We aim to have the cafe revenue supports the business and the ultimate goal is to find the cats homes.”
In addition to regular customers, the cafe will be able to host events. Drazak said she has already been approached by paint night organizers, a cat yoga instructor and a Girls Scout troop (for a field trip), to name a few..
“Marcie’s Angels Cat Cafe’s mission is to provide a safe, clean, and comfortable environment for people and cats to enjoy each other’s company,” Drakak said. “We’re goin g to offer a safe environment for adoptable at-risk cats to find their forever homes.”
The name is designed to honor Marcie’s memory and the impact she had on Drazak’s Beth’s life.
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