Tabby & Fidos Cat Cafe, located in downtown Bowling Green, may temporarily close down.
The cat lounge is looking to relocate in order to begin serving food and drinks to its guests. On Oct. 30, Tabby & Fidos took to Facebook to share the news with followers.
“Over the past year and a half, we have been diligently working towards obtaining our license to serve drinks and light snacks to enhance your experience here… Unfortunately, we have faced several unforeseen challenges that have delayed our progress, and we are uncertain if we will be able to achieve this at our current location,” Tabby & Fidos wrote in a Facebook post.
Continuing in the post, Tabby & Fidos adds that they may have to temporarily close depending on how long they have to wait for the move.
“As a result, our business has reached a standstill. The reality is that if we cannot resolve these issues, we face the decision of relocating or closing our doors temporarily until we come to a resolution,” Tabby & Fidos adds.
Patty Beam, co-owner of Tabby & Fidos, discussed wanting to move from being a cat lounge, to an entire cat cafe. While Tabby & Fidos calls itself a cat cafe, it contains no current cafe. As of now, Tabby & Fidos contains a space where you can lounge with cats.
“So our lounge is fully functioning with the cats that you can visit, we’re just having problems sustaining things because our cafe is still not up and running,” Beam said.
Beam wants to reiterate they do not plan on closing their doors permanently.
“We would not close our cafe. We have no plans to do that at this point at all. It’s more just if we need to move, which is likely, then we will have to possibly shut down for a short time to do the move,” Beam said.
Tabby & Fidos is hoping to move in order to obtain a food and retail license, however, the building they have occupied since opening in May 2023 is delaying the process.
“We have been trying to get our license, but for numerous reasons going on with contractors and
the building itself, it’s just not going to happen there,” Beam said. “We decided to reach out to the community and our supporters to help us find a new place to go.”
Tabby & Fidos is looking to stay in the BG area.
“BGSU students are our biggest fan base currently, and we (Beam and co-owner Morgan Meronk) are both from Bowling Green, so (we) are trying to stay here,” Beam said.
Tabby & Fidos has been on the hunt for a new location for months with no luck. To help move the process along, they posted to Facebook in hopes of local guidance.
“We have found numerous vacancies. Some just are not big enough, or they don’t have the things we need, or it’s just too big, or it’s just too expensive,” Beam said. “We feel optimistic we will find something, but we feel like the more eyes and support we have, the better chances we’ll find something quickly.”
When looking for a new place for the cat lounge and cafe, there are some necessities both Beam and Meronk are looking for.
“The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible bathroom is a priority,” Beam said. “In addition, access to plumbing to allow for a 4-bin sink and mop sink are items needed for licensing.”
The cafe can serve pre-packaged drinks and baked goods, along with a tea and a coffee bar, but they want a food and retail license to serve specialty items.
“We want to be able to serve specialty coffees, teas and other nutritional drinks. We also would like to add more of a menu, like paninis, lunch sandwiches and maybe some breakfast items,” Beam said.
The owners have been trying to get their food and retail license since opening Tabby & Fidos, something that customers have been wanting just as much as Beam and Meronk.
“A lot of people have been waiting, and we kept telling them it’s coming, but it isn’t, which is why we began searching and going out publicly to get help to find a new, permanent place,” Beam said.
While Tabby & Fidos is on the hunt to find a new location, Beam emphasized they are open for business.
“We encourage people to come in and visit the 10-12 cats we have in our lounge and enjoy the experience. The small fee to visit the lounge will truly help build the funds needed to make this move. In addition, it will help with the costs needed to get our cafe finally up and running,” Beam said.
