Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristi Labrenz.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Besides being a huge cat lover and animal advocate, I was looking for my moment to offer LA something fun yet lifesaving at the same time. My background is in Sales and Marketing for Fortune 500 companies as well as startups. I was 1 of the first five employees at Beyond Meat’s corporate offices in El Segundo, CA. So I had a good foundation of best practices + the resilience and perseverance from working in a fast-growing startup. After I left Beyond Meat to pursue my purpose, I visited Japan in 2015 and visited a cat cafe. I literally said to my husband, “why don’t we do this in the US but all the cats would be adoptable, live a happier life, and take life-saving to a whole new level!” I, no joke, came home from that trip and started working at a small rescue in LA to get a better understanding of managing a cat colony and met with LA’s biggest life-saving players to understand the challenges in animal welfare so we could contribute and be part of the solution.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The biggest challenge has been business greed of other individuals focusing on money, and not what’s “right”. Coming from the business world – I get it! But how can greed be part of the equation when you’re a nonprofit cat rescue? It’s ridiculous! Specifically speaking, we actually tried to open at two different locations, had signed leases with both landlords and ended up having legal issues in both through circumstances outside of our own control. It was beyond frustrating thinking we had done everything the right way, but it still wasn’t enough. Since we are a nonprofit, we were fortunate to have the best legal counsel helping guide us and thankfully, we persevered and fought for what was right, and in the end, we won, which means the cats won!
Please tell us about CatCafe Lounge.
CatCafe Lounge is LAs only nonprofit Cat Cafe. We provide adoptable rescue cats a cage-free sanctuary to call home until they find their furever home. We are basically a matchmaking service for cats and people, with coffee! All kidding aside, behind the scenes, we are very active in making a life-saving difference to the most at-risk cats in the shelter. Because our cat cafe was designed for cats (tons of climbing options, height to retreat to, and plenty of room to run/play/chase), we can house a percentage of under-socialized cats in our Socialization Program. These cats are the ones that just need a stress-free environment and a team of passionate people to help regain their trust. We have had dozens of success stories within the year that we have been in operation, and rehabilitating these kinds of cats and helping them find their furever home is who we are as a Cat Cafe. Our philosophy is to save a life – regardless on looks, age, behavior, or illness. We are an ally to support our rescue partner so they can continue to grow their amazing life-saving efforts.
CatCafe Lounge is known for having the friendliest cats in LA, delicious fresh-brewed drinks, a super clean lounge, and are incredibly caring and passionate team members. We are also known for being genuine in our lifesaving efforts. And I think that shows by the passion and hard work our team, and myself, put forth to make a difference in LA’s cat save-rate. While our lounge is comfy and designed well, it’s not the focus of our experience we offer LA. People always comment about how visiting our Cat Cafe has allowed them to unwind, relax, and engage with some awesome cats and a friendly team member, all the while feeling GOOD about contributing a $25 donation to visit and help us continue our efforts.
Visitors can visit CatCafe Lounge by making a reservation on our website: www.catcafelounge.com/visit. For a $25 donation, every visit comes with a complimentary drink, that is prepared fresh from our onsite cafe, and 90 minutes of cuddles and purrs from our 35-40 adoptable kittos.
This summer we are planning another life-saving experience – TINY BEANS KITTEN LOUNGE! We have been planning this event for over a year. It started with a mini-popup Kitten Lounge at last years Best Friends Animal Society’s Supurr Adoption event. This year we are leasing a space for three months in DTLA to save 300 kittens in 3 months. It will be a pretty magical experience, but more importantly, we will be making an impact in the 10,000 kittens that flood the city every summer, yet most are euthanized. Kitten Season is a real thing, across the nation, but worse in LA. Again, this idea was inspired by making a difference in the community of homeless cats. We collaborated with our life-saving organization friends and rescue partners to understand the issues with Kitten Season and how we could do our part to help. We are so excited for this popup opening on May 18th on Spring St in DTLA.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I wish I would have opened CatCafe Lounge sooner, so we would have already had our first location under our belt and working on the second, or third location!
Pricing:
- $25 for 90 minute visit
- $30 for 4 hours (Student only Study Session)
- Student discounts regular visits
Contact Info:
- Address: CatCafe Lounge flagship store : 1736 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025
Tiny Beans Kitten Lounge Summer popup : 551 S. Spring St. CA 90013 - Website: www.catcafelounge.com
- Phone: 310-254-7246
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/catcafelounge
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/catcafelounge
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/catcafelounge
- Yelp: www.yelp.com/catcafelounge
Image Credit:
Erica Danger
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
