Dog-Friendly Cafe Opens In The East Village

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The city's first dog-friendly cafe opened its doors for business on Friday morning after months of anticipation.

Boris & Horton, located at 195 Avenue A, is now serving humans and their four-legged friends alike, the cafe's co-owner Logan Mikhly confirmed to Patch.

Mikhly and her father Coppy Holzman decided to open the cafe after growing frustrated with the lack of dog-approved coffee shops in New York, as well as to support animal rescue initiatives. The shop gets its name from the co-founders' pooches: Boris, a pit bull terrier mix, and Horton, a 12-pound mystery breed.

Unlike cat cafes in the city, where cats roam the facility and most are up for adoption, no dogs will live full-time at Boris & Horton. Instead, dog-owners are welcome to bring their canines while enjoying their coffee. The shop will have two spaces, to keep it Department of Health-approved: a cafe side, where all the food and drinks will be sold, and a dog side, which will have seating for dogs and humans and a dog-friendly photo booth. The coffee shop says it is the first city-approved coffee shop where customers can bring their pups inside.

The cafe will also sell dog-friendly treats from Maison de Pawz, which serves treats including pupcakes and PAW-reos, along with lots of dog accessories.

In addition to its daily fare of coffee, food and dog accessories, the shop will also host regular adoption events with local rescue organizations, according to the cafe. Both Boris and Horton are rescue dogs.

The shop is located in the space previously occupied by the Ost Cafe, which was priced out of the neighborhood last year after nearly a decade in the East Village, according to the cafe's owners.

Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images / Getty Images News. Image caption: Three-week-old Chihuahua puppy Tom Thumb in 2009.