Siouxland Magazine - Volume 5 Issue 5

Siouxland Magazine | Collaborating / 22
Coffee & Purrs
Iowa’s West Coast Initiative Feature
Business Owner: Megan Thompson
Business Name: Coffee & Purrs
Main Products/Services: Coffee Shop and Cat Cafe
Location: 500 Nebraska St. Sioux City, IA 51101
Connect: coffeeandpurrs.co
Short description of your business:
Coffee & Purrs is a coffee shop and cat cafe dedicated to
providing a warm, aesthetic, and comfortable space for the cats
we house looking for their furever homes. All but one of our
cats (we have a permanent resident kitty, Blue) are adoptable
through the Siouxland Humane Society. Customers can come
into our separate coffee shop where we serve lattes, frappes,
smoothies, lotus (plant-based energy drinks), muffins, bagel
breakfast sandwiches, dairy free smoothie bowls, overnight
oats, and more. Then customers can choose to pay a small
entry fee to go next door to our cat cafe lounge. The fee goes
to helping to pay for the cats expenses, such as food and litter.
What motivated you to start your business? What
drives you each day?
I decided to pursue Coffee & Purrs because I have always had
a passion for helping cats, but never knew how I could put it
to good use. I wanted to partner with the Siouxland Humane
Society due to them always overflowing with cats and I thought
I could help them out with providing a space for them to be
taken care of until they get adopted.
What’s unique about your business? Coffee & Purrs is
Siouxland’s first and only cat cafe. We have nothing similar to
this in our surrounding areas. Coffee & Purrs is also unique
in the sense that customers looking to adopt can come to
our facility to spend time with the kitties and really get to
know them. When cats are in cages, they become scared &
confused. When cats are scared, some get aggressive or super
shy, but when the cats get to roam around and do their own
thing, customers are more likely to see their true personality
come out. They can have time to bond with the kitty in an
environment where the cat feels safe and comfortable.
Storefront on 5 th and Nebraska.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to
overcome as you’ve grown your business?
Back in October 2021 when I had the idea to open a cat cafe
in Sioux City, back then, it was against city ordinance code
in the downtown zone. I had to go in front of the city council
and pitch them my idea. They asked me a load of questions
which some of I never even thought of before, so it opened
up new perspectives. This resulted in me going to multiple
city council meetings up until they finally passed my city
ordinance code request and it was then legal to open my
cat cafe. Next on my to-do list was to figure out a way to
fund this all by myself. I’ve ran a photography business
since 2016, and I had built up quite a savings, so I decided
to take nearly all of it out, take the risk and go for it. After
finding the right space (the old Subway downtown) where
I could have my coffee shop and cat cafe right next to each
other, yet they still had separate air systems, I decided to
sign the lease, launch Coffee & Purrs and start remodeling
in October 2022.
What has been your greatest reward?
We have been successful at finding homes for 62 cats so far
as of today, July 12th, 2023, since opening day, January 3rd,
2023. It has been super rewarding to see these sweet kitties
that we’ve gotten to know over time, find a home they know
they will be safe and loved in for the rest of their lives.
How have you benefited from the startup
community in Sioux City and the region? What
resources did you use?
When I was pitching my ordinance change to the city, Coffee
& Purrs got a lot of news coverage and hype around it. I
had a lot of supporters already and it was really fascinating
to see. I even had people reach out to me before we even
opened to see if I was hiring.
Are there any experiences that were particularly
influential in that regard?
My now manager of Coffee & Purrs, Kenzie Gass, reached
out to me all the way back in November 2021 when she
saw me on the news. She was the first one to help me rip
up carpet in the cat cafe when we got access, and another
employee, Jess Funkhouser came and helped me for long
hours painting the ceiling. I had a lot of support all over
Siouxland and it gave me a lot of confidence that I was
taking the right risk.
Why is it important for the community to support
startups and small businesses? What more can be
done to help them?
The community is important to keep small businesses running
because we wouldn’t be anywhere without the regulars, and
the people who keep coming back. No business would ever
survive more than a few years if the business didn’t have
regulars, and those regulars telling other people. Word of