A Stratford-upon-Avon cat café has had the purr-fect summer of trade after seeing a strong rise in visitors from the UK and overseas.
Shakespaw Cat Café, which is based on Union Street, has welcomed around 1500 people through its doors over the past two months, up by 10 per cent on the same period last year.
Rio Roberts launched the café five years ago, providing visitors with the unique opportunity to enjoy classic café food and drink – including afternoon tea – in the company of some of the café’s resident moggies.
Rio said: “Our footfall and overseas visitor numbers are up – particularly from America – and we have just hit over 950 five-star reviews on Tripadvisor.
“Many of our overseas visitors are booking online from their country of origin, so it’s great to see that we are helping to put Stratford-upon-Avon on the global map!
“Our café provides a great outlet for people who like to be around cats but can’t commit to having one themselves, and we have a nice mix of repeat and first-time visitors.
“It is the perfect tonic after a tough lockdown, and we are looking forward to growing further over the coming months with a range of creative community events.
“We offer children’s classes during school holidays including flower pot painting and cat behaviour lessons. In October we will be hosting spooky activities along with a Halloween menu, including pumpkin-themed hot chocolates and milkshakes.
“We have also recently taken in six rescue kittens who are entertaining the visitors by hiding in their handbags!”
Alongside having eight resident cats, the café also works with the charity Peppers Pet Rescue to rehome cats that come into their care, and over the past five years has seen them re-home more than 50 cats.
Darren Tosh is the Operations and Marketing Director at Shakespeare’s England, the tourism body for south Warwickshire.
He added: “South Warwickshire’s tourism scene continues to bounce back strongly from the pandemic. It is particularly encouraging when we see evidence of an upturn in overseas visits – and Shakespaw Cat Café underlines this trend.
“Independent businesses play a crucial role in providing a varied tourism offer to both UK and international visitors, so it is fantastic to see the Shakespaw Cat Café going from strength-to-strength.”
For more information about Shakespaw Cat Café, visit www.shakespawcatcafe.com