A beloved dog café said it will reopen after its customers and community rallied to bring in $250,000 in donations following its sudden closure earlier this month.
Dog-friendly café Boris & Horton, which has locations in Alphabet City and North Williamsburg, announced on Feb. 15 via Instagram that it would close imminently. It did not cite a reason for the closure.
“We figured we’d just have a really great last 10 days,” said co-owner Logan Mikhly. “And then our customers essentially just said: ‘No.’”
Longtime customer Amanda Gerzog, who works in social media marketing, was so disheartened by the news that she started a GoFundMe to raise $20,000 for the business.
“They are such a gem of an establishment,” said Gerzog, who does not have a dog. “I work remotely, so I go there to get my little dog fix in.”
She said she reached her goal in about a week.
The outpouring of support spurred the owners to create their own fundraiser, which reached its $250,000 goal within days.
They said the money was needed for capital improvements like replacing air condition, renovating spaces, and hiring new management staff to streamline operations.
Now the café hopes to reopen in the next few weeks, according to Mikhly. The two locations remain closed as of publication.
New York’s first “Department of Health-approved dog-friendly café”
Boris & Horton, which Mikhly and her father Coppy Holzman first opened on Avenue A in 2018, advertised itself as New York’s first “Department of Health-approved dog-friendly café.”
“If you ask the health department, they will tell you that we are a café with an adjacent dog-friendly space,” said Mikhly, the daughter.
The complicated regulatory dance that allows the cafés to exist added extra overhead costs that were part of the initial decision to close, Mikhly said.
Because the cafés both serve food and allow dogs, they are subject to extra regulations from the city’s health department. The spaces are partitioned into a…
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