Special to Times
On Wednesday, Aug. 31 at 6 p.m., Brittany Baker, proprietor of the proposed A Sanctuary Café, will host a community open house at 80 Charles St., the future home of her café/bookstore/cat lounge.
Baker is currently seeking approvals from the City of Boston to open the City’s first “cat café,” which will provide patrons the opportunity to spend quality time with resident cats in a cozy living room setting, while sipping small batch coffee and tea and snacking on locally sourced treats. Baker, who has a background in literacy, will also operate a micro-bookstore on the premises, with carefully curated offerings for book lovers.
Said Baker, who has lived on Beacon Hill for eight years: “Several major cities across the U.S. are home to immensely popular cat cafes. I’m thrilled to bring this concept to Boston, and particularly to my own Beacon Hill neighborhood.”
Baker hopes that A Sanctuary Café can be for its clientele exactly what its name suggests – a place of comfort and respite, where people can enjoy the calming experience of interacting with cats. She also hopes to use the business as a means of fostering literacy across the City, committing the benefit corporation to matching every book sold with a book donation to a Boston Public Schools student. Although the Café is not yet open, Baker has used the storefront to give passersby a taste of what’s to come. The upcoming Open House will provide neighbors who are interested in learning more to stop in, see the space, and meet Baker and the team of architects and consultants helping her bring her novel idea to fruition.