If you have ever wondered what it would be like to run a kitty cafe there may be an opportunity in Guelph as the owner has put his business up for sale after nearly a decade in the cat world.
My Kitty Cafe and Wyndham Variety at 117 Wyndham St. is up for sale and its bittersweet for owner Min Kim who has run the kitty cafe for nearly 10 years and been part of Wyndham Variety for decades. His family ran Wyndham Variety for over two decades and then Kim bought it from them to own and run it himself.
There is a back area of the store that was previously unused when his parents ran Wyndham Variety and Kim had the opportunity to open it up which is where the cats and kittens are. The rent for the store in total is $6,000 a month.
It just dawned on Kim this morning after walking from his parking spot to the cafe for 8 a.m. that this won’t be his routine anymore once it sells. When he walks through the door he sets up the front of the store first, the Wyndham Variety part, and then gets the wet food ready for the cats because he knows if he does it in the opposite order he may not have enough time to get the front set up ahead of it opening at 9 a.m.
He brings four trays of the food through the doors of where the cats are and there are usually 15 cats waiting since they are used to their routine. Once the trays are set down the majority of the cats come and start eating. “It is the craziest thing in the morning you’ll ever see,” said Kim. It gives him a chance to do a headcount of the cats. There are currently 22 cats and kittens at My Kitty Cafe, which are available to adopt.
People can book a time slot online or in-person to spend time with the cats in the lounge.
On Oct. 23 about eight people came through the door within the first hour the store opened and most were there getting coffee, cat food, or playing the lottery. Many people were regulars Kim knew by name. He looked like he was having fun joking around with everyone as he wore his CatFather t-shirt with a cross around his neck.
One person came in to ask if Kim was hiring which he said happens almost daily.
Kim moved to Canada in 1990 with his family from South Korea and Guelph will always be his home regardless of where he ends up in the next chapter of his life when the cafe sells. Growing up Kim had a family dog and when the dog died he said he wouldn’t get another pet.
When My Kitty Cafe opened in 2015 it started with kittens and cats from the Guelph Humane Society, acting as a satellite location to adopt out the furry friends. Months later it was no longer GHS and instead Purrfect Companions of Norfolk, a volunteer run rescue, so since then the cats have been adopted through the rescue at the cafe.
In the first year of the kitty cafe opening it adopted out 200 cats. To this day its found homes for 1,500 cats, said Kim. Two of the cats, Dyson and Hazel were adopted by him.
Kim’s mom wouldn’t let his dad come to the store anymore once Kim took over because he kept asking about the changes and where things went.
When Kim invited his parents for lunch at the cafe it was then the family discovered their mom was allergic to cats and had to be hospitalized. She swelled up and was mad at Kim. She said something along the lines of that she gave birth to him, raised him and then he got cats. His mom can’t visit his home either because of Dyson and Hazel. Kim can laugh about it now all these years later.
Kim isn’t the type to ask for help even if he needs it and he is regimented, always with a plan.
“To be honest, I'm kind of scared, yeah, because I don't have any plans,” said Kim. He has to sell the cafe to move onto the next thing and said he has a couple things in mind as to what he wants to do, but nothing is set in stone yet.
The reason he’s selling is because he thinks he’s had enough after neatly 35 years of being part of a public facing business. “I’m going to definitely miss the cats,” said Kim. “They’re amazing, they’re way better than people.”
He hopes that when there are new owners they will continue the business as is and that they too have a love for cats. The cats will remain in the care of Purrfect Companions Norfolk no matter if the business remains the same or not, said Kim.
