The Black Cat Market is a cat cafe. This is a niche business where people can buy coffee, tea, and other coffee shop beverages and also spend time with adoptable cats.
Our customers are typically people who really love cats. We get a good mix of folks who already have pet cats, folks hoping to adopt, and people who can't currently own cats but want to get some quality pet time. Since we are located in Pittsburgh, which has a fairly large college population, we find a lot of our customers tend to be college students who cannot have cats in their dorms and are looking for a relaxed group activity.
We charge a $5 fee per person for a half hour in the cat room. Guests can also purchase beverages and baked goods to bring into the cat room with them, or to-go. We also stock merchandise with our logo on it, such as t-shirts and mugs. We also sell other odds and ends like cat toys, decorations, jewelry, often from local artists.
Prior to COVID-19, The Black Cat Market also held community events such as poetry nights, art shows, crafting events, board game nights and more. These were very popular and we hope to be able to organize them again in the future once the virus is under control, or in a way that is appropriate according to COVID-19 safety guidelines.
