Cat and coffee lovers in Richmond will have a new spot to unwind this spring when The Purrfect Bean opens its doors in the Fan district. Set to debut in April, the café will occupy a 1,700-square-foot, two-story space at 214 N. Lombardy St., the former location of Westray’s Finest Ice Cream, which closed last August.
The Purrfect Bean will offer customers a cozy environment to enjoy coffee and tea while interacting with adoptable cats from a local animal shelter. The café’s owner, Michelle Langham, originally from Northern Virginia, has fostered animals in her Powhatan home. After noticing a lack of cat cafés in Richmond, Langham decided to combine her love of animals and experience in retail management into this new venture.
“I wanted to do something different that combined my passion for animals with my background,” Langham explained. “It aligned with my mission of helping animals.”
The Lombardy Street location was chosen for its walkability and proximity to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), with Langham hoping to attract students to the café. She envisions the space as an alcohol-free environment where people can relax, socialize, and spend time with adoptable cats, benefiting both humans and animals alike.
While the café area will be on the first floor, the cats will have their own free-roaming space upstairs, where visitors can interact with them. Langham has not yet announced the animal shelter she will partner with.
Customers will pay separately for drinks and an hourly fee to spend time with the cats, although the rate has not been finalized. The café will offer an all-vegan menu, with Langham sourcing local ingredients from vendors like Afterglow Coffee Cooperative.
Richmond’s Purrfect Bean is the city’s second cat café, following the closure of Central Purrk in Shockoe Bottom in December 2019. Central Purrk operated for three years and helped find homes for numerous cats.
As opening day approaches, Langham is overseeing extensive renovations to the 1920s-era building, including new flooring. The exterior will feature feline-themed art, and each floor will be decorated with cat-inspired murals.
Purrfect Bean plans to be open on Sundays and Wednesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and will likely be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
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