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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kitty Cantina secures location, plans April opening

This kitten is being held by it's new owner Yumiko Nadler at SCRAPS on Aug. 9, 2017. (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

Co-owners Justyn and Tori Cozza plan to open doors on The Kitty Cantina: A Cat Café in April, after the husband-and-wife team secured a location at 6704 N. Nevada St. in mid-January, Justyn Cozza said.

A glass wall will separate the café portion from the cat area, which will feature furry friends adoptable through SpokAnimal. The Cozzas came up with the idea for the cafe after visiting the cat cafe Neko, in Seattle.

Securing the space was no small feat, Justyn said, because finding landlords who were willing to accommodate a space used for both animals and food service proved to be difficult.

Securing a loan hindered plans as well. The café had a successful Kickstarter campaign – nearly 300 backers funded $13,566 – but lenders wouldn’t allow the Cozzas to include the money when proving their business could be viable.

“They were actually following it and rooting for us, they were great,” Justyn Cozza said. “They just said you just have to show that you are financially viable without it.”