If you’re a cat lover but don’t have the resources to take care of one yourself, a new business coming to Naperville may have a solution for you.
Cafe Purrfection is planning to open in Naperville in mid-November, bringing cats and coffee to a strip mall near the intersection of McDowell Road and North Route 59.
It is the first business venture for owner Carol Jamil, who was inspired to open a cat cafe – a themed-establishment where customers can play with cats as they sip on a cup of coffee – after visiting one in Missouri about four years ago.
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“I fell in love with it,” Jamil said. “It was like one of my things (where) I wanted something like that, you know.”
Over time, she noticed more cat cafes opening in the Chicago area and in Indiana, but none that were particularly close to her home on the Naperville-Aurora border. As she was preparing to send her youngest child to college, she knew she needed something to occupy her time as an empty-nester.
“Most of my 21, 22 years of marriage, I was just a stay-at-home mom. Every now and then, I would have small jobs here and there, but I was like, ‘Okay, now what’s something I want to do?’” she said. “I never really wanted to work for somebody, so my husband’s like, ‘Why don’t you do a business?’ So I was like, ‘Really, that big?’”
It was a daunting endeavor for Jamil, but she said that support from the community has helped her feel more confident in opening her business. That includes everything from the five people – excluding her and her daughter – helping her paint a mural inside the cafe to artists who reached out to help her make a logo for the business.
Cafe Purrfection will broadly be divided into two sections: a cafe and sitting area with a book nook on one side and a separate section for customers to play with the cats on the other. A glass wall will separate the areas so patrons can watch the cats play as they enjoy their drinks.
There will be 10 rescue cats from the Wheaton-based organization Animal Rescue Foundation (A.R.F.) for people to play with. All of the cats from A.R.F. will also be available for adoption.
“Mine had to be a rescue,” Jamil said. “I’m not really fond of the breeding for a cat cafe, you know what I’m saying? It has to be a shelter.”
In addition to the 10 rescue cats, Jamil said she might bring her two house cats, Alex and Leo, to visit the cafe, though they will not be available for adoption. Her cockatoo who is “a big flirt to everybody” may also make an appearance at the cafe, she said.
For A.R.F., it is the first time the organization will be partnering with a cat cafe. Though the nonprofit had been approached by other cat cafes in the past, board member Michelle Fischer said that Jamil’s proactive outreach and decision to only work with one rescue made A.R.F. decide to work with her.
“She just seems very hands on and determined, and like she’s going to dot all her Is and cross all of her Ts and take very, very good care of the cats,” Fischer said. “She’s thought of making sure there’s a separate area, so if a cat seems like they might be falling ill, she can separate it so it doesn’t go widespread.”
Fischer hopes that the partnership will also help A.R.F. get more cats adopted faster, especially since the cats will be more acclimated to the cafe environment.
“(Individuals) can interact with the cat in a space that they feel safe in, and the cat’s going to show so much better than they will at an adoption event, so people don’t have to take as big of a leap of faith as they might if this cat was being shown outside of its comfort spot,” she said.
As for the cafe part of the business, Jamil plans on serving prepackaged snacks and drinks like coffee and refreshers. All of the drinks will have a cat-themed name, such as “whisker mocha,” “tabby toffee latte” and “caramel calico latte.”
The inside of the cafe will have a forest theme with greens, browns and sages as some of the main colors. A 40-by-8-square-foot mural with cherry blossoms and a waterfall will also grace one of the walls of the business.
While walk-ins will be welcomed, Jamil said that booking a time slot in advance is encouraged for those who want to play with the cats. No reservations are required for those who just want to enjoy a cup of coffee.