March 29, 2023

Construction has started on Sioux Falls’ first cat cafe, and owner and CEO Heather Wendlandt expects to welcome her first customers and a full-time inhabitant by midsummer.

The Cattitude Cafe will offer an eating area designed for people only while a separate room will allow those who fancy felines to cuddle cats to their heart’s delight.

Wendlandt expects construction to take 90 to 100 days to complete, then the cafe will be decorated and the staff trained. She originally had hoped to open earlier this year but ran into unexpected delays.

“We, of course, went through the SBA and hit a few speed bumps there,” she said. “We had to start the process over again, and it took a little bit of time.”

The Cattitude Cafe will open in the recently renovated Johnson Building at 11th Street and Second Avenue, joining tenants that include 2nd Avenue Salon Suites, Lenae Design, Preache-es, Sageworth Trust Co., Johnson Properties and Evans Haigh & Hinton LLP.

Current work on the space that will house the cafe includes building the wall and bar tops. A separate heating, ventilation and air conditioning system has been installed.

“It’s slow, but there’s progress,” Wendlandt said. “I’m definitely excited to see things moving forward now.”

The cafe will offer coffees, lattes, beers, wines and light food items.

Customers who want to spend time with the cats will pay $10 an hour to enter a separate room where the cats will have lots of space to climb, roam, nestle in hammocks and entertain passersby through large windows.

This room will contain 15 to 20 cats that will move downtown from the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society. All the cats but one — who will be a permanent cafe resident — will be available through adoption. The Humane Society will handle the arrangements, although Wendlandt plans to send each cat off to its forever home with a “goodie bag” that includes toys and treats.

Customers who enter The Cattitude Cafe will see the dining area first, where people can sit at tables or the bar to eat and drink. They also can view the cats who remain inside the special room, enjoying the towers, beds, shelves and hammocks set up for their creature comforts.

The cafe will have a cat theme with pillows and wall decor, Wendlandt said.

“It’s just going to be fun and light,” she said. “I’m focusing on any cat-shaped thing I can find.”

Wendlandt expects to announce the grand opening date later this spring.

“We’re super excited to get this construction project going and seeing the grand opening and everybody down there,” she said.