Tinker's Cat Café

LOCATION: Salt Lake City, Utah

OWNER: Lisa Boone

YEAR OPENED: 2017

CAT CAPACITY:

SUMMARY

Tinker’s is located in the recently gentrified area of 9th and 9th in Salt Lake City, Utah. Lisa Boone leased the property before many of the new, trendy businesses moved in the area. It’s hard to miss the café as you drive down 9th south – the front of the building is all windows, and you can always spot a cat or two lounging on window beds or in cat trees. A large, black awning covers the front of the building with the Tinker’s cat-shaped logo. The west side of the building features a colorful mural of cats enjoying coffee and socializing in a café. The entrance to the cat café features a human-sized cat tree that you can lounge on and serves as a great photo opportunity. Everything about the building signals that you are visiting a cat-centered space.

Lisa Boone was first introduced to cat cafes through an episode of The Amazing Race that was located in Japan, and the challenge was for participants to feed milk to cats at a café. The idea stuck with her. With a new awareness of cat cafes, a lifetime love of cats, and an interest in opening a small business, Lisa began the process of seeking funding through city development resources and a Kickstarter campaign. Getting the health department to sign off was an easy process, as the head of the department was a cat lady herself. By fall 2017, Tinker’s Cat Café, the first cat café in Utah, was officially open.

Tinker’s Cat Café works directly with Salt Lake County Animal Services to identify “friendly” cats to be featured at the café. A “friendly” cat refers to a cat that is social and gets along with other cats and humans. This arrangement allows for adoptable cats to be more visible than they would be at the county shelter, and Tinker’s also benefits by receiving free medical services for cats as the café is considered as part of Salt Lake City Animal Services many foster care programs.

RESEARCH FINDINGS

In my interview with Lisa Boone and in my many visits to her café, two of the research findings stood out:

Research finding #1: Cat café owners start with a range of cat rescue and adoption experiences.

Lisa’s story is probably familiar to many of us – she grew up with cats; her childhood cat was named Tinker’s and this early connection to cats shaped her loved for animals over a lifetime. For cat café owners, an initial encounter or story about cat cafes puts their life on a new trajectory. For Lisa, the competitive show The Amazing Race had an enormous impact on her and introduced her to the possibility of a cat café. From there, Lisa used her entrepreneurial skills to work with local government offices for funding and design approval and created this space for cats in our community.

Research finding #4: Cat cafés are inclusive community spaces.

At Tinker’s Cat Café, very different people come together through their love of cats. In our interview, Lisa describes customers as coming from “all walks of life” and the sense of calm that cats bring to people in the space. The layout and design are meant to encourage social connection. In the cat lounge, the tables are pushed together and encourage people who otherwise don’t know each other to interact. Tinker’s hosts “cats and paint” classes and “crochet with cats” sessions. Beyond these events, Tinker’s has been a site for weddings, proposals, first dates, senior home visits, and Make-A-Wish visits, among other events. The Pride community recognized Tinker’s Cat Café as a queer-friendly space in Utah and a large pride flag is displayed in the front window.