• A cat bar is a place where you can relax and eat surrounded by felines.

  • Two establishments of this type opened in Nantes in 2015.

  • La Maison d'Elise will close on Saturday 6 November.

    Its creator is moving towards another project.

“It was a very, very beautiful adventure. I really invested in it, there were some great moments, but the time has come for me to turn the page. A little more than six years after a very remarkable installation in the Graslin district, Elise Jeantet will definitively close the doors of La Maison d'Elise on Saturday evening. This "neko café" is none other than the last cat bar in Nantes. You can have a drink, have lunch or enjoy a pastry there, while rubbing shoulders with and stroking real cats moving freely, in this case four cats of the Maine Coon breed.

The astonishing concept, which came from Japan, landed in Paris at the end of 2013 before landing in Nantes a year and a half later.

Two similar establishments were then launched a few months apart.

The first, Le Chat L'heureux, located near the town hall, lowered the curtain after three years.

The Maison d'Elise will soon be replaced by a clothing store.

"There is plenty of space in Nantes"

Its manager and founder, who is leaving for “another professional and personal project”, had been looking since February 2020 for a buyer capable of continuing the cat bar activity.

In vain.

Is the fashion past?

“I had a lot of contact at the start, then the Covid happened.

Everything has been blocked.

I think that cooled the desires of many entrepreneurs in the restaurant business, ”says Elise Jeantet.

According to her, the neko café was nevertheless a "great success".

“There is plenty of room for an establishment like this one in Nantes.

People love the concept of relaxation and purring therapy.

I had families with children, retirees, a lot of students… Regulars and curious alike.

Since the announcement of the closure, I have also received a lot of messages of support and thanks.

It does a lot of good.

The cat bar will officially close on Saturday at 9 pm, after a cocktail.

And what will become of the four Maine Coon cats?

"They will stay with me of course!"

answers Elise Jeantet.

They are my cats.

They already come home every evening, they will not be disoriented.

But it's true that they might miss customers' hugs.

"

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  • Bar

  • Cat

  • Nantes