Grant Winner Update: Soft Opening

August was all about renovations, preparations, and the countdown to opening day. Anyone who has successfully opened a small business knows how much goes into planning for your first day of operation, whether you’re running an online store or a brick & mortar establishment.

The first thing we needed to do as soon as we received our zoning approval was to apply for a building permit so that we could complete the construction on our cat lounge expansion. However, the process wasn’t simple as just walking into the Buildings department the day after our special exception was approved. In order for the approval to be official, it needed to be filed with the Town Clerk and the notice had to be published in the newspaper. Only once that had occurred, could the permit be granted and the renovations begin, creating a space with twice the room for our incoming cats to explore!

The work consisted of adding a bathroom for the customers, adding a vestibule so that there would be two doors in-between curious felines and the outside world, and creating a cats-only room, where kitties could take a break if they needed a respite from humans for a little while. While still running the day to day operations of the café side, it became necessary to also act as a project manager – coordinating contractors, arranging initial and final inspections, and ensuring that everything was proceeding according to schedule! We were determined that the expansion would be complete and we would still have enough time left for the cats to arrive and become comfortable in the space and with their new roommates before our sneak peek began.

Speaking of our sneak peek, we planned to sell advance preview tickets for our 2-week soft opening, when we would allow fewer people into the cat lounge per hour than we will during the regular day-to-day operation of the café.  Guests who purchased these tickets also received additional perks like double punches on our new 10-visit loyalty card as well as an exclusive logo pin.

We learned a lot about promotion while attempting to advertise our soft opening. While online outlets helped get the ball rolling, it may have been helpful to also reach out to more traditional methods of marketing like newspapers and radio. We would later find that there is a much more immediate response to the phrase “now open” as opposed to “opening soon” or even “grand opening”.

Since we were only allowing up to 8 people into the cat lounge per hour during the sneak peek, and many sessions had less than that number, this enabled us to take that time to refine our process, becoming comfortable with our reservation system, establishing opening and closing procedures, and practicing to what to say when a guest first enters the café or cat lounge.

We’ve since had our grand opening, and over the course of 3 weeks, 4 cats have already been approved for adoption, and we’ve received lots of great reviews for everything from the deliciousness of the coffee and baked goods, to the cleanliness of the cat lounge and the friendliness of the employees.

We look forward to celebrating the successful completion of our first official month!

About the author

Angela Pullo is the 19th Small Business Grant winner. She is the owner of Mew Haven Cat Cafe. Mew Haven Cat Cafe is a coffee shop with adoptable shelter cats. With an hourly entry fee, people can come and play with cats. Some people can`t have cats, and this provides a form of stress relief. Some people who want to adopt can get to know the cats` personalities before they adopt.

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