London’s first ever cat café in Bethnal Green could close at the end of this month after the owner fell into debt caused by the lasting effects of the pandemic.
The owner of Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium, Lauren Pears, opened the café in 2014 but was recently forced to file for insolvency and sell the business after rising costs and a backdated rent payment pushed the café’s debts over the edge.
The current manager of the café, Freyja Hides-Westwood, set up a Crowdfunder to raise enough funds to buy the café’s assets from Lauren with a goal of raising £50,000 by 23rd June.
Freyja said: “I have quite a good relationship with Lauren and we’ve had a few conversations about why Lady Dinah’s is so important, so I know how sad she is to have to let it go.
“It’s such a magical, whimsical place and I’ve loved it ever since I joined six years ago.”
At the time of writing, nearly a thousand people have donated to the Save Lady Dinah’s Crowdfunder and just under £42,000 has been raised, which is about 83% of the target amount.
Watch the video below to find out more about the café.
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