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The new cat cafe opened on Feb. 16, and has since then had lines out the door with customers anxiously waiting to view the cats.

Cafe Meow opened its doors for the first time on Feb. 16 after four years of planning. Co owners Danielle Rasmussen and Jessica Burge had the idea in early 2014: “We started working on the idea in 2014, with an initial goal of opening in the fall of 2016, but these things always take longer than you expect, and we had never opened a business before, but now we are here and we are so happy to be finally open,” Rasmussen said.

There are two sides of the cafe. First, when walking in, customers will see a fully functioning coffee bar, with a full menu of beverage options, and even many treats as well. Then, looking to the left, there are two large windows looking into the room that holds the main attraction: cats.

“Right now we have thirteen cats from three different rescues; No Kitten Left Behind Minnesota, Minnesota Animal Rescue, and Ruff Start Rescue,” Rasmussen said.

If you were wondering, yes, all of the cats at Cafe Meow are up for adoption. In the first weekend, the owners reported four inquiries for adoption.

Although the concept may seem straightforward, the owners have received many calls from confused people. “The most common question that people ask is if they can bring their cats to the cafe to play, and people also don’t seem to understand that you do not need a reservation to come into the building,” Rasmussen said.

However, if you are looking to spend some time with the cats, there is a $10 reservation fee, and it is easiest to reserve a spot in advance on the cafe’s website, because spots will fill very quickly, and only about three walk ins are allowed each hour.