New cafe and thrift shop in Easton will be cat’s meow
Center for Animal Health and Welfare to benefit from them
Coffee dates at a new spot in Easton will include cute, cuddly and furry companions this September.
The Center for Animal Health and Welfare is expanding beyond its adoption shelter in Williams Township. Next month, the center plans to open a cat café that will also include a thrift shop and community space at 452 Northampton St.
At the new spot, people can get their caffeine fix in the company of six cats, who will be up for adoption. Organizers have also been collecting clothing and houseware items to fill the thrift shop portion.
Both the thrift store and café will provide more funding for the Center for Animal Health and Welfare.
“We wanted a space that would connect us to the community, that we could truly involve the community in a way that is beyond just adoption,” said Kelly Bauer, executive director of the Center for Animal Health and Welfare.
Previously, tattoo shop Pleasure & Pain was in the Northampton Street spot, but the shop closed during the pandemic.
So far this year 18 new businesses have opened in Easton, said Kim Kmetz, Main Street manager for Easton Main Street Initiative. She expects about 11 more will open this year.
Last year, 27 businesses opened in Easton, she said.
The Center for Animal Health and Welfare has been around for
more than 100 years. While the location in Williams Township just offers adoptions, the café will emphasize community education.
“If we can educate, if we can bring our community awareness and resources that can help them potentially keep their pet or not have to surrender [it], that’s what we want to do,” Bauer said.
The cafe comes out of the shelter’s “Paw project,” which stands for placement, advocacy and well-being.
The space will start out with the cat cafe and resale space, but organizers are developing programs such as animal CPR training, compassion fatigue seminars and classes to handle pet ownership stress. They will also provide resources connecting people to the shelter, such as volunteer and adoption applications.
“We truly want to be a resource for our community, whether they’re just looking to adopt or they have a new puppy and have questions about it,” Bauer said. “There’s lots of ways that we can be a support for our community.”
Bauer said the cafe will be a
home-like setting that will give people an idea if they are ready to adopt a feline friend. Additionally, the new business intends to address the community’s needs too.
“You can talk about how we reduce the number of cats in feral colonies, you can talk about reducing animals that are being returned for adoption, you could talk about abuse and things like that,” Bauer said. “But unless you’re part of it, unless you’re doing the work, you’re not really being the change. And here at the shelter, our main focus is actually being the change.”
In their current Williams Township spot “you have to know us to get here,” Bauer said. But in the Easton location, the new store will be in a spot that will see heavy foot and car traffic.
“This is actually taking our mission of placement, advocacy [and] well-being and taking it to the community where they live,” Bauer said.