Sacramento Cat Cafe Sunk by Building Department Hurdles

After four years of effort, Sacramento’s Capital Cat Cafe has scratched their plan to open the city’s first cat cafe. In an announcement posted to social media, the mother-daughter team of Laura Hebern and Emalee Ousley detail a series of  set backs that have beset the project for four years. While the ladies experienced  life’s vicissitudes during the four year struggle, including a serious health challenge, the endless bureaucratic red tape would ultimately throttle the Sacramento cat cafe plan.

 The Capital Cat Cafe owners have been unable to overcome persistent obstacles from the Sacramento building department. The proposed downtown cafe, envisioned as a community hub where people could enjoy coffee alongside adoptable cats, faced unrelenting bureaucratic hurdles that ultimately proved insurmountable.

 

 

 

The primary challenge was the building department’s rigorous plan review process. Each submission was met with new demands, often revisiting issues previously addressed. Evolving building codes, expired permits, and requirements for additional specialists piled on mounting costs. The latest setback slapped a new $120-per-hour fee for reviewing revised plans after three submittals, a financial burden the small business could not sustain. While the cafe secured health department and conditional use permits without issue, the building department’s delays, demands, and fees continued to drain resources. Despite a supportive building owner and strong community backing, including a successful crowdfunding campaign, the project could no longer move forward. 

Sacramento: Not Small Business Friendly

The stalled project  highlights the broader challenges facing small businesses in Sacramento. In addition to the building department difficulties, the owners cite additional obstacles to opening a small business in California’s capital city. They write:

“We have learned that the city of Sacramento is not small business friendly, from building owners not wanting to lease to a business without corporate backing, to real estate agents that don’t return calls, and the building department repeatedly throwing red tape at us.”

 

 

 The building that Capital Cat Cafe secured for the cafe should have been the ideal location for a capital city cat cafe. The 16th Street address is in the heart of Downtown Sacramento, a vibrant and walkable central business district. Ironically, the planned cat cafe would have been about half of a mile from both the Sacramento City Hall and the California State Capitol. Online

Community Response to Sacramento Cat Cafe Announcement

The community response to the Capital Cat Cafe announcement is equal parts disappointment and frustration with local government. It appears City Hall did not just crush the cat cafe of Laura and Emalee, but the dream of city cat lovers. Here are some of the more sharable comments:

Thanks Sacramento for making the red tape so convoluted that a great business has folded before it even started.   -Christine

I am so very sorry for all of the roadblocks you faced for no reason. I’m sorry Sacramento would not come through for you and for its community who would have loved a cat cafe.    -Megumi

I  am so sorry to hear this. My girls and I were looking forward to checking it out. I will also say I am disgusted by the city of Sacramento. They do not make owning a business easy.   -Georgia

Shame on Sacramento!  -Adele

New Sacramento Area Cat Lounge

For now,  Sacramento cat cafe fans will have to enjoy other California  cafes. Northern California has two cat cafes, including a new cat lounge in Davis. The Tabby Tea Cat Lounge and Adoption Center opened in January, bringing the Sacramento region its first cat cafe experience. The lounge opened by a veterinarian in tandem with a cat-only veterinary clinic, Cat Tales Feline Health Center. California’s northern most cat cafe is the Chico Cat Cafe, located 90 miles north of Sacramento in Chico. Next closest would the Bay Area  cat cafes. Use our Cat Cafe Finder to find a cat cafe near you.