This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week. This is an opportunity for Yellow to highlight some of the entrepreneurs of the Grand Duchy. And to showcase their concept and their success story.
Today we’ll be talking to Mehdi. He is the head of the first tea room in the country.
Interview.
Hi Medhi. Tell us everything, to open a cat bar, you have to be a real enthusiast, right?
It’s true. I have always been a cat lover. I have been surrounded by cats since I was very young, so orienting my professional life around them seemed natural.
I opened my first “Chalon de thé” in Metz in 2018. A year later I opened the one in Luxembourg. It was the first cat bar in the country. I am very proud of it.
Today I have even completed my CV with training as a veterinary assistant. I am also a cat behaviorist. I must admit, my whole life revolves around them (laughs).
A cat bar…it’s not a concept you see every day.
And yet, everyone should come and visit, every day. People think of cats as stubborn animals, but they have a lot of benefits for humans. Purr therapy is a very important thing. A cat’s purr can help with anxiety, stress and insomnia. A cat that comes to rest on your chest or stomach, close to your heart, can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 40%. When you know this, you understand better the interest of frequenting this kind of place.
And stroking a fur ball is relaxing.
That’s for humans, but what about cats?
At home, cats reign supreme. It is the humans who invite themselves to the cats, and not the other way round.
Visitors have rules to follow, so as not to disturb the cats’ lives. For example, they cannot catch them when they want to be alone. Nor can they feed them as they please.
I designed my concept for them and with them. I designed everything for their development. The cat trees, the walkways and their hammocks, everything was handmade according to their preferences.
How many cats do you have?
There are already 13. And we’re about to get two more, kittens. All the cats we have at home have been taken from animal protection associations we work with, from the street, or from individuals who wanted to part with them. The aim is to take in abandoned animals.
Would you like to come and visit Mehdi and his felines? He gives you an appointment
