Wishing for a place to unwind with a cup of coffee while surrounded by charming cats? In northeast Queens, a cat café awaits your arrival.
Espurresso Cat Café (ECC) is the second cat café to open in Queens, welcoming cat lovers with savory beverages and bites. Located at 208-03 35th Ave. in Bayside, ECC opened its doors earlier this year to feline fanfare, reflecting an upward trend of cat-centric spaces in the World’s Borough. The playful pun on the word “espresso” showcases the café’s mission to cultivate a community that combines caffeine and cuteness for cat enthusiasts.
For International Cat Day, a worldwide holiday celebrated every year on Aug. 8 that raises awareness on cat welfare, enjoy an un-furr-gettable experience at this tranquil spot playing with adoptable cats and indulging in succulent treats.
In partnership with Purrific Home, an NYC-based volunteer cat rescue, ECC promotes the health and wellness of its cat residents and searches for their fur-ever home. The spacious café also offers a cozy lounge to stray cats seeking their purr-fect owners. The non-profit organization encourages prospective cat owners to read the instructions before adopting a feline companion from this sanctuary.
“It honestly feels like fate that we started working together,” said Zihan Liu, the manager of ECC. “We’ve known each other for a long time, and Purrific Home is super respected in the Chinese community, and we’ve always shared the same mission.”
“They’re people I truly trust and admire. They’ve always been amazing with rescue work, so teaming up just made sense!” Liu continued.
Gloria Sin, the spokesperson for ECC, described their cat therapy sessions as essential tools for those in need of a calming atmosphere.
“If some people are struggling with mental health, they just want to spend time with cats,” Sin shared. “I know [for] some people, that’s how [they] like to feel better. You see some people stay at our café for the full day.”
The curated menu offers a mouthwatering selection of food items. The options include bubble waffles and egg waffles, the latter of which features red bean, chocolate, taro, pork floss and matcha filings. For Chinese crepes, customers can add extra protein like turkey ham and spicy gluten snake. Additionally, a limited menu of items lists rose almond starch, osmanthus almond starch, soy milk and osmanthus soy pudding.
In the beverage department, ECC offers no shortage of brewed refreshments. Amid the play sessions, visitors can select flavored lattes and flavored Americanos, both of which are unique offerings in the cat café scene.
“I think this is the first time that I’ve seen flavored Americanos at any café,” Sin noted. “We have a wide variety of them.” The fruitful palette features grape Americano, orange Americano, grapefruit Americano, coconut Americano and more.
When asked about advice to potential cat café owners, Sin believes that it is best to collaborate with a feline rescue to rehome shelter cats in need. The spokesperson added that adult cats should be adopted at the same rate as their kitten counterparts.
“A lot of our cats do get adopted. But since we have so many kittens, a lot of our adult cats are kind of overshadowed,” Sin shared. “All of our adult cats are beautiful, wonderful cats, so I’d really appreciate if people will start to look into them a little more.”
Two of the famed adult cat residents are Cinder, the self-proclaimed “king of the cats,” and Chico, the people’s cat. The teen cats include Queen and Suede, the tortoiseshell cat duo.
As for age restrictions, guests only need to be above two years old to play with the fur companions — one of the many distinct aspects that sets ECC apart from the rest of the NYC cat sanctuaries.
For those interested in visiting ECC, please note that weekend walk-ins are limited. Make sure to book a reservation ahead of time.
To find out more about Purrific Home’s cat rescue initiative, click here.
