See inside: Boston’s only cat cafe is now open

The cat lounge is not yet open to visitors.

A Sanctuary Cafe, a cat cafe and micro-bookstore, opened earlier this month at 80 Charles Street in Beacon Hill. (Annie Jonas/Boston.com Staff)

By Annie Jonas

July 17, 2024

Calling all cat lovers: Boston’s only cat cafe has opened in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, offering patrons the chance to sip espresso or grab a pastry, and browse a selection of curated books alongside several feline friends.

The front window of A Sanctuary Cafe features a spiral staircase (right) and real maple tree (left) for the cats to climb. *(Annie Jonas/Boston.com Staff)*

A Sanctuary Cafe soft-opened earlier this month at 80 Charles St. – just across from Beacon Hill Books & Cafe. The cafe is a “first of its kind” business in Boston, owner and manager Brittany Baker said at a Licensing Board hearing last month. Baker declined to be interviewed by Boston.com on Wednesday.

The city’s first cat cafe, Purr Cafe in Brighton, opened in 2017 and closed two years later after becoming mired in controversy. A Sanctuary Cafe is the first business to host both cats and a cafe together.

The cafe-bookstore side of the space will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. *(Annie Jonas/Boston.com)*

The one-room space spans 1,300 square feet, with a curated micro-bookstore occupying the back of the store, and the cat lounge and cafe space occupying the front of the store.

The cafe serves espresso drinks, loose leaf teas, pastries, and desserts from local businesses, Baker said at the hearing. The cafe received approval for a food permit in early June of this year, Licensing Board staff confirmed with Boston.com.

The pastry case at A Sanctuary Cafe features pastries and desserts from local businesses. *(Annie Jonas/Boston.com)*

How does a cat cafe work? Well, the cat lounge is separated from the cafe via a “window wall” that divides the ground floor into two completely separate spaces, Baker said at the hearing. The cat lounge is only accessible through a double-door vestibule with self-closing doors to prevent the cats from escaping, Baker said. The space is retrofitted with a split HVAC system to prevent cat hair and dander from entering the cafe-bookstore space, she added.

The cat lounge is not open to visitors just yet, but patrons will be able to pay to relax or play with the cats once they have adjusted to their new home.

The cat lounge is separated from the cafe and bookstore via a “window wall” that divides the ground floor into two completely separate spaces. *(Annie Jonas/Boston.com Staff)*

“The cat lounge area’s timeline is being dictated by the cats themselves: we’ll add additional cats when they’re ready for new friends and won’t invite visitors until everyone is properly settled into their new permanent home,” Baker said in a July 16 newsletter.

There are currently seven permanent rescue cats who live at the cafe full time. On Wednesday, a few sleepy cats could be seen basking in the sun in the large window seat at the front of the store. If they’re feeling frisky, the cats can scale a spiral staircase or climb a real maple tree to reach an upper catwalk running along the periphery of the lounge.

The cafe is currently open from Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with plans to expand its hours to 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the coming weeks.