Soon, Miaou Coffee, the first cat bar in Béziers, will open its doors

Johanna Delauzun finalise les derniers travaux avant l’ouverture du Miaou Coffee. ML

Le 1er juillet, le cœur de ville de Béziers accueillera un nouveau concept : un bar à chats. Ce salon de thé pas comme les autres permettra à ses clients de profiter de la compagnie apaisante des chats tout en dégustant des spécialités gourmandes.

Johanna Delauzun is the founder of Miaou Coffee. After ten years in the social sector, where she worked with foster children, and an experience as an event project manager in Metz where she is from, she decided with her husband to change their lives in 2022. He found a job in Béziers and the family then settled there.
“I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to launch my own project”, she confides. “I had already had the idea for a while. In Metz, there was a cat café that I went to regularly. The first time I walked in, I had a revelation and knew that one day, I would create my own."

Cat cafes, a concept imported from Taiwan

The first cat bars appeared in Taiwan and Japan in the late 1990s. Neko cafés – neko meaning cat in Japanese – were born in response to the ban on many Japanese keeping pets in their apartments. These spaces have quickly gained popularity, particularly in large Japanese metropolises, where city dwellers find stress-relieving companions among cats and enjoy the benefits of purr therapy.

The realization of the project

As soon as she arrived in Béziers, Johanna knew what she wanted to create, but she had to acquire the necessary skills to make her project a reality. She then followed training in entrepreneurship with BGE Ouest-Hérault to structure her ideas and develop a solid business plan."The hardest part was finding the space. I absolutely wanted to settle in the city center of Béziers and I had many conditions to respect to ensure the well-being of my cats. Like for example, having an independent room so that they can rest there away from humans", she says. After seven months of intense research, she finally found an ideal space in February 2024, at 1 rue duhat rouge.

"Animals bring incredible well-being"

A commitment to animal welfare and social ties Artisanal cookies made in Maraussan, Lorraine specialties, jar salads, bagels, bubble tea, milkshakes, Johanna will offer a varied range of biscuits and snacks. But the heart of the project remains above all animal welfare and the creation of social bonds. "I imagined Miaou Coffee as a friendly place where people, even alone, come to share, exchange and communicate. With the cats, of course, and among themselves too", explains Johanna. While Miaou Coffee will open its doors on July 1, the five cats have already made their mark in their new home and are already starting to seduce passers-by through the bay window. "Everyone is intrigued and keeps asking us when we are going to open", smiles the manager.
Very sensitive to disability in the broad sense, Johanna wanted her tea room to be accessible to everyone. "PMR access was also part of my conditions when looking for premises. I had to be able to respect the standards even if it is not an obligation in the historic center", she explains. Its long-term ambition: to offer animal mediation to an audience of children or adults with disabilities. "Animals bring incredible well-being and unconditional love to everyone without distinction. They have incredible therapeutic and educational power."

Dates and key figures

July 1, 2024: opening of Miaou Coffee.
120 m² : total area of ​​the tea room.
19 people: capacity simultaneous reception to guarantee the comfort of the cats.
5 resident cats: 1 Maine Coon, 1 Bengal, 1 Siberian and 2 Europeans.
Miaou Coffee: 1 rue du Chapeau-rouge à Béziers. @miaoucoffee on Facebook and Instagram

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