Creating Connections Through Cats - Christine and Ailee @nabicatcafe

Where do you go to unwind? For many, café-hopping has grown as a popular hobby of sorts. Some cafés boast exclusive drinks, while others offer fun excursions as part of the café experience. At Nabi Cat Café, guests get the best of both worlds through tasty Korean-inspired drinks and an insanely adorable cat lounge. The best part? All cats and kittens are adoptable, fostering community and connection between both café-goers and cats. Read more to learn about Nabi Cat Café owners Christine Hedeen and Ailee Kim and their journey through the world of cats and coffee!

Photos by Brian Tang and Nabi Cat Cafe.

Congratulations on your grand opening! Now that you’ve been about a month out from opening, what have been your biggest takeaways from running your business?

Opening a cat café has been both an incredibly rewarding and eye-opening experience. In this first month, one of our biggest takeaways has been learning not to internalize difficult customer interactions. While the vast majority of our guests have been kind and supportive, we've also encountered situations where emotions run high, and had to learn how to navigate those interactions with empathy and professionalism. As new business owners, we’ve had to learn to separate these moments from our sense of self-worth and remain grounded in our values and mission.

We’ve also gained a crash course in navigating operational challenges. From unexpected power outages to managing crowd control in a space with strict capacity limits for the wellbeing of the cats, we’ve learned how important it is to stay calm under pressure, communicate clearly, and lean into problem-solving mode without compromising our standards or guest experience.

Lastly, improving bar flow has been a key focus. We're constantly refining our drink-making process to be faster and more efficient, especially during high-traffic times, while still maintaining quality. Every day brings new lessons, but we’re incredibly grateful for the support of our team and community. Each challenge is a learning opportunity that helps us grow stronger and more resilient.

Tell us about the product/service you are most proud of.

We are most proud of:

Product: Matcha Latte. During our research/experiment phase, we had the most difficulty sourcing the optimal matcha powder. We wanted it to represent our Korean heritage all the while being high in quality. After many failed attempts, feedback, and research, we are so proud of the product sourced from Jeju Island, Korea and the recipe we specially crafted for it. Our matcha latte is well loved amongst the matcha-enthusiasts!

Service: Our main attraction, the cat lounge! We’ve poured in hours crafting the space to make it warm and cozy for not only our cats but also the guests that visit. Seeing our cats roam the space and cuddle with guests warms our hearts everyday. Our main focus, other than finding forever homes for the cats, is to ensure that each and every one of the felines are content and healthy during their stay at our cat haven. Our nonprofit rescue partners, Town Cats, Scritch Kittens, and Pink Paws for the Cause are our biggest supporters! 

What is an aspect of being an entrepreneur that forced you to learn something new?

A big lesson for us as entrepreneurs was learning the importance of taking breaks. As natural workaholics, it initially felt normal to be “switched on” all day, every day - spending long hours on-site at the cafe and using our off-hours, including Mondays when we’re closed, to handle administrative work. But we quickly realized that constantly operating in that mode left little room to reset mentally, which is essential for sustaining creativity, clarity, and energy.

To avoid burnout, we developed a system that allows us to take turns stepping away from on-site duties so one of us can focus on behind-the-scenes tasks or simply take a walk in the park to decompress. That flexibility has been one of the greatest strengths of being business partners- being able to support each other and create space to recharge, so we can return with renewed focus and continue giving our best to the business.

What are your favorite professional resources for running your business?

Our favorite professional resources are truly other small business owners! We spent many hours connecting with other similar businesses to learn about work-life balance, business operations, and common struggles. Big shout out to Ann from Dancing Cat, founder of the amazing cat adoption lounge located in San Jose!

If you could go back in time and tell your past self anything, what would it be?

If we could go back in time, we’d remind ourselves to embrace the slower days.

Even though we’ve only been open a little over a month, quiet days would often leave us second-guessing ourselves - wondering if we had done something wrong, overanalyzing customer interactions, and stressing about foot traffic. But we’re learning that slower days are not setbacks; they’re opportunities. They give us the chance to plan and create social media content on-site, collaborate with our baristas on ideas, and strengthen our online presence by responding to messages, emails, and inquiries with care.

We’re still adjusting to the rhythm of business ownership, but we’re learning to view these moments as valuable time to regroup, create, and connect - rather than something to fear.

How has your cultural identity influenced your journey so far, if at all?

Both Christine and Ailee’s cultural identity as Korean-Americans is deeply woven into the fabric of Nabi Cat Cafe.

The idea for the cafe was inspired by Korea’s rich cafe culture - where thoughtfully designed spaces, unique drink menus, and attentive service are essential parts of the experience. From our interior decor to our flavor profiles and commitment to customer care, we’ve brought that inspiration to life in a way that feels true to us.

Being Korean-American has also shaped the way we approach hospitality and community. There's an ingrained sense of consideration and warmth in Korean culture that we strive to bring into every interaction - whether it’s greeting a guest, supporting our team, or caring for the cats. As both first-generation and second-generation entrepreneurs, we're proud to blend our heritage with our vision for a welcoming, inclusive space that brings people joy.

Your brand is centered around your passion for animal rescues and helping animals find forever homes. What inspired you to make this a key element of your business?

Christine and Ailee are both animal enthusiasts! We both rescued our pets (1 cat for Christine and 2 dogs for Ailee) from shelters and ever since had a big heart to help more of them to find forever homes. All over Asia, there are a lot of cat cafes as well - that was a huge inspiration to bring one just like it to the bay to share our passion and fulfill our mission!

We saw that in preparation for your cafe opening, you hosted an at-home popup as practice. What advice do you have for folks who are interested in creating a cafe, whether it be a full brick-and-mortar business or an at-home cafe setup?

Our home cafe was a blast! Our main focus was to provide good service and drinks and receive feedback to improve our products. It was very helpful for us to decide if we needed to make modifications to our drinks. It also served as affirmation if a drink was tasty and ready to be shared with a wider audience. If anyone is looking to host a home cafe for the same reason, ensure that you know your home espresso machine (does not have to be fancy) inside and out. Dialing in is difficult and will not be anywhere close to what you can get with a commercial equipment, but knowing your machine will definitely help! 

Our advice overall for anyone interested in opening a full brick and mortar business is to expect delays and have backup finances planned out. We doubted those around us who shared about months and months of delay for businesses and thought, “It won’t happen to us” - It will. We faced close to a year of involuntary delay between signing the lease to our space to finally opening to the public. Reasoning of delays can vary, but main reasons may be permits or construction.

You have a wide variety of tasty drinks, from your Jollypong Cereal Latte to your Tiramisu Latte (which is such a sweet homage to Misu!). Could you please walk me through your thought process when it comes to creating/selecting a drink?

First and foremost, we think about how we can mix our Korean heritage into our drinks! For example, Jollypong is a childhood favorite snack for many Koreans. While it is enjoyed on its own, it is also widely enjoyed as cereal with milk. This is where we received inspiration and decided to make it into a latte- the drink received lots of positive feedback that it reminded them of their childhood. For any future drinks, we plan to do the same! We’ll start off by brainstorming a Korean flavor and experiment with it to make it more familiar to the majority of our community.

Where do you hope to see Nabi Cat Cafe in the next 3 years?

Over the next three years, we hope to establish Nabi Cat Cafe as a local favorite for quality coffee, top tourist destination in Silicon Valley, and a welcoming space for relaxation and cat adoption.

Our vision is for Nabi to be more than just a cafe - it’s a community hub where people can unwind, connect with adoptable cats, and enjoy thoughtfully crafted drinks. We’re excited to grow our presence through regular events like K-pop nights, crochet meetups, and mini adoption fairs, creating experiences that bring joy and connection to our guests. Whether someone’s stopping in for their daily coffee or enjoying the cat lounge, we want Nabi to be a memorable part of their day.

Share another Asian-women-owned small business or entrepreneur that inspires you!

Haru Cake (in Koreatown LA) truly inspires us! We admire their aesthetic, attention to detail, simplicity, and high quality, which are all values we share. We also love how they spread the beauty of Korean cafes and celebrate Korean flavors like mugwort and injeolmi, and how they offer trendy Korean drinks like sweet corn lattes. Haru Cake's success in bringing Korean cafe culture to a broader audience is both inspiring and motivating for us as fellow Korean-women entrepreneurs.

What is the last thing you were curious about? 

The last thing we were curious about is whether or not cats sense unseen things! We often have cats in our lounge stare into the distance - while at times it’s just a fly or a piece of lint flying in the air, oftentimes it’s emptiness (or maybe spirits?)! It would be very fascinating if it can be proven scientifically one day.

What can the community help you with?

We’d love continued support in spreading the word about Nabi Cat Cafe! Whether it’s by sharing a visit on social media, bringing a friend to experience the lounge, or recommending us to a fellow cat lover or coffee enthusiast, word-of-mouth means everything to a small business like ours.

We also welcome connections with other local business owners, event organizers, and creatives who might want to collaborate. We’re so grateful for all the connections we’ve already made through our cat cafe, and we’re always so amazed by how supportive the community is. One of our core goals is to keep building relationships and help foster a more connected community here in the Bay Area.

Christine and Ailee's journey gives us a deep dive into the highs and lows of running a brick and mortar as well as the beauty of combining community, culture, and coffee. To learn more about and visit Nabi Cat Café, use the links below:

https://www.nabicatcafe.com/

https://www.instagram.com/nabicatcafe/