Get Ready for Koneko, the Newest Cat Cafe on the Lower East Side

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Let the cat fighting begin. The Lower East Side will soon have two cat cafes to its name.

A year after Meow Parlour debuted down on Hester Street, the concept found another taker. Principal Benjamin Kalb is installing “America’s first authentic Japanese Cat Cafe” at 26 Clinton Street. It’s called Koneko, which translates to “kitten,” and is inspired by the trend which apparently took the island country by storm.

Unlike Meow Parlour, however, Koneko permits food purchase (and consumption) all in the same space. As previously reported, they’ll serve “breakfast food such as baked goods, oatmeal, fresh fruit” and for lunch/dinner, “Chirashi, Hiyayakko, salads, and sandwiches.” There will also be wine and beer available, a license for which was approved by Community Board 3 in May.

Koneko Cat Cafe debuts on Clinton Street in September.

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Here’s an excerpt from the Koneko mission statement:

Koneko’s central mission is to find loving homes for cats pulled from the city’s “at-risk” list by our partner, Anjellicle Cats Rescue. The “at risk” list is the last stand for New York City’s cats — they are scheduled to be euthanized the following day for behavior or health issues. At that point Anjellicle activates its network of foster homes and pulls as many cats as possible from the list. Some of these lucky kitties end up at Koneko — where they’re eligible for adoption by our guests.

Beyond the direct adoption of Anjellicle’s cats, we support the work of two other amazing NYC rescue organizations. City Critters facilitates adoptions for strays and homeless cats, and K9 Kastle focuses on saving cats with physical and neurological challenges.