by Caroline Vaught | Jul 26, 2018
Greetings friends! As you may have noticed if you follow us on social media, our demolition work began last week! This was a big milestone for me, one that I began envisioning well before we moved to California.
When we found our space, the majority of it had at one point served as a dentist office. Walls from old offices, cabinets, old x-ray equipment and even biohazard containers (yikes) had been left behind gathering dust. Andrew and I threw some pic axes into the dry wall just for the fun of it, then removed our silly selves so that the demolition team could proceed with the real work!
As each layer of prior use has been removed, it is not lost on me that each wall, ceiling tile and lighting fixture once played a part in bringing someone else’s dream to life. And now – just as we encounter in other aspects of life – those elements have completed their purpose and are removed to make room for something new.
Breaking something down – physically, mentally, emotionally – makes space available to create, to transition, to grow and improve.
This concept holds true for the work ahead of us. If you traced the past experience of each adoptable cat in foster care beyond the day they were pulled from a shelter, you would most likely find a point where something in that animal’s life broke down. His or her owner passed away, or the owner encountered a hardship where they could no longer provide care and companionship. And sadly sometimes the cat or kitten was simply no longer wanted.
It is our opportunity – and YOUR opportunity – to meet each of these animals in their broken space to help them create a new and improved life. A second chance to love and be loved in return. Glennon Doyle recently shared this beautiful passage from the Talmud:
This work is good work indeed… and by simply taking the time to read this you are committing to help us accomplish that good work. For that I am most grateful.
With Love and Light,
Caroline
by Caroline Vaught | Jul 2, 2018
Hello! It’s almost July can you believe it? I sound like my mom when I say this but… every year seems to go by faster and faster. I’m overdue on an update for you guys because I was selected for jury duty over the past two weeks – but I’m thankful I was called now instead of a few months from now when we will be ready to open!
I have a LOT of updates for you guys and positive progress to report. For those who don’t follow along with us on social media here is a detailed highlight reel.
Our design and proposed build out was submitted to the San Diego Department of Environmental Health on June 1. This was the one piece of our puzzle that always held a bit of worry for me, because plan submission sort of happens in a vacuum. You don’t get to sit across the table from the reviewer and explain your concept or how your operational procedures are structured… so it’s a good bit of crossing fingers, hoping the reviewer understands the concept and that you followed all the requirements, and admittedly saying some prayers that they like cats!
We received our first round of comments back from the health department this past Wednesday and I was stunned – only 7 comments! Each being fairly basic inquiries requesting more detail on exhaust fans in the bathrooms, making sure we file a certain form for a FOG (that’s industry lingo for a grease trap, sometimes required if you are serving dairy and other liquids that contain oils or fats), asking us to confirm that our turbo chef oven doesn’t require an exhaust hood… etc. etc…
That was it! No changes to our design! No added restrictions or limitations to our cat lounge! I straight up did a happy dance on the steps of the shiny new courthouse downtown while on break from the trial.
Running a simultaneous path, we submitted the same design and build plan to the City of Vista on June 13. They informed us they are super busy right now with a lot of projects in queue for review, and to anticipate their response time to be delayed more than usual. We’ve been told we should have their first round comments back by July 18. I had hoped for a shorter turnaround time, but this is a good reminder for me to relax, enjoy the process and trust that all pieces do fall into place in their own right time.
So let me get to what all this means and our next steps. Once we receive first round comments back from the City, we go into the “Delta 1” phase with our design. This means our food service and architectural team incorporates all the revisions and info requests from the Health Department, the City of Vista, and our property owner into the design and the updated drawing package is then resubmitted to all parties for a secondary review.
Pending the City’s comments, we are currently scheduled to begin demolition of the space week of July 16, following a hazardous material survey (making sure there are no materials currently onsite that contain asbestos) scheduled to take place next week. And then we will swing the first sledgehammer to start the process of converting the space into Cat & Craft!
I understand if this is a lot of boring detail. ‘Where are the cat pictures!?!’ you say. Trust me I get it… but it’s important to give you some insight into all that goes on behind the scenes when it comes to starting up a new business. I totally understand why ‘Coming Soon’ signs tend to stay up for months.. there are a lot of rules and regulations to wade through before you can open doors – or install doors in our case!
One more thing – we have an awesome sign in the works! I’m really pleased with how our logo looks on the building and when I got our first proof my heart sang. It’s so rewarding to to see something you’ve wished for, envisioned and dreamed about for years begin to take shape. Not for me, but for the benefit of every cat and every person who enters our space, and the community each of you guys is helping us create.
I hope each of you enjoys as happy and safe 4th of July. How great is it that we live in a nation where we all have the freedom to pursue our dreams and create good things… I’m grateful for that and grateful for each one of you.
With Love and Light,
Caroline : D
by Caroline Vaught | Jun 4, 2018
Oh hey June… where did you come from?!
Hard to believe we are almost half way through the year already but you know time flies when you are having FUN… and we’ve been up to some big stuff since I last dropped you a note.
We got to meet so many awesome folks at the Vista Strawberry Festival over Memorial Day weekend… and we even had some cool cat visitors check out our booth!
But let me back up a few weeks. The month of May required us to give some extreme focus to the coffee shop portion of our business so that we could get our plans in front of the health department as quickly as possible. I had no illusions that building a coffee shop would be easy, but holy wow did I underestimate the level of detail that goes into submitting a food service design plan for review.
First there is the basic equipment – coffee been grinders, espresso machine, ice machine, refrigerators, etc. Then there are things like food prep carts with garnishing compartments, MORE refrigerators, multiple freezers, nitro tanks for the cold brew and kombucha, Turbo Chef ovens, and high temp dishwashers. THEN there are water lines, drainage lines, power lines, grease traps, triple wash sinks, and finishes the health department likes (FRP) and finishes they don’t like (anything not white lol). It’s sort of like if you were to go shopping for a new car having never driven one before.
And let’s not forget the fact that there will be cuddly cats in the room next door, so you have to account for not just separated space but separated wash sinks, separated mop sinks, separated trash receptacles and separated entry ways (one for the cats and one for the people).
Thankfully we have a great team at San Diego Food Service Design Group helping us out, and they have over 70 collective years experience in the commercial food service industry here in San Diego and across the country. So our plan went to the San Diego Health Department for plan check today, and we’ve told all our own cats to cross their toe beans that we’ve accounted for everything the health department will require of us!
Also happening over the last month, we’ve been working with our construction partner Jacor Construction to finalize the buildout of both the coffee cafe and the cat lounge. What material finishes will be used for the floors, counter tops, cabinetry, restrooms, storage spaces, how big will the windows be, what height is the bar counter, how much seating do we need and where will we get all our furniture… it’s like building a house! Which IS EXACTLY what we are building… and that brings me to a great Jim Rohn quote “whatever good things we build end up building us”.
[ctt template=”8″ link=”haU0x” via=”yes” ]”Whatever good things we build end up building us….” ~Jim Rohn[/ctt]
Cat & Craft is a home for the adoptable cats residing in our care while they wait for their forever family. But the space is intended to be a home for our community too. Maybe you can recall a time that you went to visit your friends house, and they offered you a cup of coffee or tea and then the two of you had this great connection and conversation… that is exactly how we want our space to feel when you come visit us. I can’t wait to watch connections happen as strangers become friends, and animals who were once cast aside begin to experience trust, love and comfort. This is what we are really building, and this is what ultimately builds us all.
With Love and Light – Caroline
P.S. Have a great idea about activities, menu items or anything else? Send us a DM on Instagram
by Caroline Vaught | Apr 27, 2018
Happy Friday Everyone!
Wow what a few weeks it has been! If I haven’t spoken with you directly during our recent Vista and Fallbrook events, let me take this opportunity to tell you we’ve been in lease negotiations for WEEKS. As you may know we started our location search in June of 2017. The last time I counted we viewed something like 24 properties over the course of a year… and we made offers on six of them!
We would find a great space then get priced out by other offers… or we’d find a great location with an excited owner then learn there was already a coffee shop with exclusivity in the complex. Or we’d find a great space with an excited owner then discover the city’s permitting requirements would take an additional 6 – 9 months and we still might be told no at the end of it – how crazy is that!?
So in February when we first toured our new home in Vista – a space perfectly sized for our concept, with supportive owners AND city officials – we knew we finally had a winner! A commercial lease agreement is no joke, and taking the time necessary to make sure all needs were accommodated was a worthy investment. We’ll be located in a shopping center at the corner of Palomar Airport Road and Business Park Drive – super convenient to Carlsbad, Vista, San Marcos, Oceanside and Encinitas!
A good friend said to me “Don’t let this time pass you by. A year from now you’ll look back at how far you’ve progressed, don’t fly through the process without experiencing it.” It’s easy for me (and I’m guessing someone reading this will relate) to get caught in the details and rush, but when I do that I don’t fully experience the moment. I’m thankful for this reminder because experience is a huge piece of what we are creating at Cat & Craft. Rescued cats who will experience love and trust thanks to our future customers, and future customers who will experience compassion, community and connection simply by participating in this journey with us!
With love and light,
The *trying to be patient* Cat & Craft team!
by Caroline Vaught | Mar 9, 2018
Happy Friday!
I can’t believe it’s the second week of March already (time flies when you are having fun!) We’ve had a busy few weeks, and I so enjoyed meeting some of you during the recent Vista Family Fun Day.
Seeing your smiles and and feeling your excitement about what we are creating here in North County San Diego is fuel to the fire of my purpose, and each interaction further solidifies the space of compassion, community and connection we are bringing into reality.
I’ll admit it is very easy for me to focus on the physicality of our location, and the time it has taken to reach this milestone has at times been frustrating for me. Those of you who follow my posts on Instagram and Facebook know we started our location search in June of 2017 – we toured countless properties and made multiple offers during the months since and at times it would get pretty discouraging.
But at the end of February we finally found a fit, and would you believe it we are ALMOST finished with our lease negotiations!? I have a fun little unveiling in the works for you in the coming weeks (I can formally announce our location when all paperwork is signed ; ) so keep an eye on our social media for the day and time to tune in for details. I can’t wait to share our progress with you over the next few months as we begin building out the space!!
Also if we have not had the chance to meet you in person, I encourage you to come visit us at the upcoming Fallbrook Avocado Festival in April and the Vista Strawberry Festival in May! We will be joining our rescue partner LYFF Rescue with info on available cats and kittens in need of good homes, information about how you can help community cats in your area, and we will have some fun C&C swag on hand for you to purchase (a portion of all proceeds will go to our rescue partner LYFF Rescue).
As always thank you so much for your support. Its people like YOU who are making my dream a reality, and I am beyond grateful.
With love and light,
Caroline
Owner, Cat & Craft
by Caroline Vaught | Jan 5, 2018
Hi friend! I hope you are enjoying a great start to 2018 and that you are as excited as I am for the awesome happenings ahead this year! I look forward to posting regular updates for you in the coming weeks, but first let me catch you up on what’s been keeping me busy.
My husband and I had the good fortune of being able to visit a few existing cat cafes during the later part of 2017. KitTea in San Francisco, Purrington’s Cat Lounge in Portland, Crumbs & Whiskers in Los Angeles, The Cat Cafe in downtown San Diego, Denver Cat Company in Denver, and Java Cats in Atlanta! It’s great to see the unique and successful ways in which each cafe operates and learn from some of the best out there. Each establishment was beyond kind and helpful – and rightly so as we are all working towards the same great cause. Someone once asked me if I worried about there being “too many” cat cafes and my answer is always OF COURSE NOT! The more venues available to connect homeless animals and people, the more homeless animals get adopted and that’s what this is all about! I’ve attached a few photos from our travels to encourage you to visit these cat cafes next time you find yourself passing through their hometowns.
We’ve also been hard at work finding a location. As many cat cafe owners will tell you, finding a location is often one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome. We formally began our property search in July of 2017 and have been actively submitting offers ever since. Some places turned out to be too small, some places too large/expensive, and others simply weren’t comfortable with the idea of having animals on premise. BUT I am absolutely confident the purrfect (I couldn’t resist) location is just around the corner. As many of you know we are primarily targeting Carlsbad California to service the North County market and the city has been super supportive of us. But we have also been searching the neighboring cities of Oceanside, Encinitas and Vista as well.
I have some exciting news to share too but I want to be mindful of your time.. so stay tuned for next weeks post. Until then have a great weekend!
Much Love,
Caroline
