Cleocatra Cafe prowls onto Portage

Downtown

Wolseley

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This article was published 10/05/2023 (920 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You’ve heard of goat yoga — how about cat therapy in a café setting?

Cleocatra Café, or Quan Cop Phe, is opening its doors May 15 at 859 Portage Ave., the former home of Scout Coffee + Tea.

While Scout was billed as “Winnipeg’s only play café”. Cleocatra is meant to be a “mental reparation,” said co-owner Ségard Reedson. The space is decorated with vintage items, handmade art and, most prominently, plenty of cats.

The front section of the space is an exotic sitting area, covered wall-to-wall with the artwork.

“Thinking pieces,” said Reedson, who has an explanation for each.

The back area of the café, separated by a large glass window and door, is a cat playpen, with ladders and chairs for the resident animals to climb and lounge on. Coffee, a long-haired feline jokingly deemed the “store owner,” has his own chair.

Cleocatra’s esthetic is vintage and sustainable. Every decoration is reused; seom of the art is created from dictionary pages and repurposed window frames. Indeed, the whole vibe is arty, and Reedson and the other owners say they like to stay very “low-key,” by hiding their faces under 3-D paper cat masks.

Once the cafe opens up to the public, visitors will be able to create their own masks alongside other patrons.

“Our store does emphasize… creativity,” Reedson said. “And bonding between people, so we don’t just want you to come here and check out Instagram and things like that. We actually put a very long password on the Wi-Fi.”

“We moved here from Vietnam,” Reedson said, explaining that he and the other owners volunteered in animal shelters.

“We have seen terrible conditions where cats don’t even have space to roam around. They don’t have adequate food and drinks, so because of the experience we had in the past, we wanted to do something special to save more life. As much as possible,” he said.

He said that Cleocatra, which is partnered with the Winnipeg Humane Society and Freedom Rescue Group, will give visitors a chance to visit with the resident cats, and perhaps find a new pet that clicks with them.

“(The shelter) will rescue the cat. They will, like, do all the back checks, vaccinations, spray and neuter. So all the cats in here will be ready to go home and ready to be adopted. And if anyone comes in and wants to adopt a cat, they can just fill out the application,” Reedson said.

He said most cat cafés are like zoos, and wanted to create a place that would benefit the cats as well.

They also explained the mental health benefits of having an accessible place for visitors to cuddle up with the animals. The Portage Avenue location places hem close to the University of Winnipeg and RRC Polytechnic, which will hopefully give students a spot to ease stress.

The Instagram page, @cleocatra.cafe, already has more than 500 followers.

The cafe will sell baked pastries, coffee that will eventually be imported from Vietnam and other drinks. The menu specifics will still be kept under wraps for now.

Cleocatra Café will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.