Business Spotlight: Cleocatra Café
Hours: Open everyday (9 AM to 10 PM or 11 AM to 9 PM)
Location: 859 Portage Avenue
Website: www.cleocatracafe.ca
Products: Coffee, matcha and pastries
Services: Cat café, Cat petting, Cat adoption
Q&A with the Business Owner
What’s your full name?
Harry’s fine. Call me Harry!
When did you open your business?
We have been open to the public since May 20th, 2023. But before opening our doors, climbing to get there took a long time. Next month, it will be our first anniversary.
What inspired your business idea?
Everything started with pets. This was back in Vietnam, where I’m originally from. Back in Vietnam, with my very close friend and family member, we have an animal rescue centre. There are lots of small animals, like cats and dogs, on the street, homeless, getting hit by cars left and right, and people in Vietnam aren’t making enough money, making about one dollar per hour, to feed themselves and take care of these animals. So, you have these animals that keep reproducing, making the situation worse, which made us set up an animal rescue shelter.
About six years ago, I moved here as an international student, and I noticed that we have cats everywhere, homeless cats, just like what we have in Vietnam so I approached some of the shelters. The main and the only one thing that kept coming up with all the shelters is that they don’t have enough space to take care of all the homeless cats, and they can’t find foster homes for the cats. People are not adopting them fast enough. You know, people say they want kittens more than older cats.
I was sitting there thinking of something to do about that. Cleocatra Cafe is the place where potential foster parents can come to meet the cats. People can get to know the cats here, their behaviour, and their characteristics, and that seems to be very helpful in having them get adopted. We have adoption forms, and there’s an adoption fee, and it’s all done through the rescue centres we’re partnered with.
What do you think makes your business different?
I would say it’s the experience people who come here get. It’s hard to explain. Our decor is beautiful; it is 1900s European-inspired. We have a partnership with a furniture warehouse to display their stuff.
What’s your message to your current and future customers?
The reason why we exist is to help rescue cats, free cats, and love them. Yeah, that’s all I want them to know: to save the cats.
Giveaway Contest
Enter the contest for a chance to win one of THREE prizes. Visit any of the participating businesses and submit your entry. Each participating business has a draw box where you can enter your name for a chance to win! No purchase is necessary; for full contest details, please click here.
Participating Businesses
- Mofe International at 569 Ellice Ave (Open Monday to Saturday)
- Wolseley Eyecare at 986B Portage Avenue (Open Tuesday to Saturday)
- Som Legacy at 726 Sargent Avenue (Open Tuesday to Sunday)
- Miss Luxe Hair & Beauty at 466 Sherbrook St (Open Monday to Saturday)
Age requirement: you have to be 18 or older to participate.
Contest running period: The contest will run from April 22nd to 30th. You can visit the participating businesses anytime between these dates. The operating hours will vary for each business, so plan accordingly.
Winner Announcement: The winners will be announced on April 30th and contacted through the provided phone number and/or email address on the card.