NEWPORT NEWS—Kim Zettel has been a teacher for 24 years and worked with Hampton and Newport News public schools for more than 13 of them. After retiring, she went to work as a curriculum developer and trainer for a robotic company. Her husband, Phil, is getting ready to retire from the Navy after 26 years. They have five children, one of whom is getting married soon. All of these life changing events got Kim to thinking, “What can I do that I really would love to do?”
The Zettels initially thought about opening a bowling alley, but Phil Zettel was concerned that would be extremely time consuming and they would always need to be at the facility. Instead, he jokingly suggested doing something with all the cats Kim had brought home as a volunteer with the Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter (PRAS). That’s when the lightbulb went off.
“My husband has a background in human resources, and he’s worked with construction equipment maintenance his whole career as a Navy Seabee (Construction Battalion),” said Kim Zettel. “I have a masters of science education in Library and Information Science from ODU, and I thought, ‘How can we use all of our expertise with a business that will help the community?’ That’s how Cups & Claws Café got started.”
The concept of Cups & Claws is to have a café setting where people can come in, pay an entry fee to watch or interact with the cats, grab some coffee and a pastry or sandwich, and maybe even use the space to study or work.
“If I was to have my perfect vision, it would be a cozy coffee house with mellow music, study corners, and an environment where people can feel like they are home,” said Kim Zettel. “We could have birthday parties or business events like business meetings. Because studies have shown that being around animals is actually beneficial for both the humans and the animals. It relieves a lot of stress and is psychologically supportive. We’re hoping that alone will draw people in—because if you think about it, there’s a lot of stress going on with covid right now, in addition to the isolation and loneliness. This would be great for people who just need a break.”
While the Zettels are busy looking to secure a centralized location in Newport News for the facility, Kim has already been in contact with PRAS and the Poquoson Animal Welfare Sanctuary (PAWS) as well as a number of other local animal rescues such as Paxton and 4 Paws. In most cases, the cats will live at the café until they are adopted, roaming freely around the facility day and night.
For people looking to adopt cats from the café, the business will be able to start the application process, but each rescue has their own set of vetting procedures and will contact potential adopters themselves. In other words, don’t expect to walk in, have a coffee, and walk back out with a new pet. The process may take some time.
“People always ask me, ‘How can you bond with an animal, get attached to it, take care of it, bottle feed it, do all these things, and then see it go?’” said Kim. “My answer is always that it is a joy knowing that you’re helping not only that animal, but the person that is adopting it. And you want to make room for the next animal that you’re going to help because I can’t keep helping animals if I’m keeping all of the cats I’m fostering. So, that’s part of what created the idea of a cat café—how can I help as many animals as possible and also help the shelters? Because I really do enjoy volunteering at the shelters, and I see how much stress they are under with volunteer shortage and trying to find good homes for animals.”
The Cups & Claws plan is to have a three-pronged approach: partner with shelters and rescues; help other groups of people who visit the cafe; and support other local small businesses and the community. The cafe will offer volunteer hours to college and high school students and would love to have local authors come in and do “read-alouds” of their books. Local artists can come in to do murals or potentially have their work hanging on the walls. And the café itself will draw in visitors that may be interested in other nearby businesses, increasing foot traffic for everyone.
“I recently spoke with someone in the Newport News Business Office, and they told me there are only two other cat cafes in Virginia,” said Kim. “We’ll be the third. That’s pretty awesome for Newport News. I think it’ll draw a lot of business in for other local small businesses.
The goal is to open Cups & Claws in early May. Kim Zettel is optimistic.
“I think this is just God’s way of telling me, ‘This is what you need to do,’” she said. “Everything has been really fluid and it’s all coming together nicely. Sometimes your passion guides you and it’s just very exciting.”
Visit the Cups & Claws Facebook page to get all the latest details about the opening date and location.