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Beloved dog cafe will close its Brooklyn location, owners say
By
Karen Yi
Published May 26, 2024
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Courtesy Boris and Horton
By
Karen Yi
Published May 26, 2024
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The city’s popular dog-friendly cafe, Boris & Horton, is shutting down its Brooklyn location at the end of the month, the owners announced on Instagram.
Father-daughter owners Coppy Holzman and Logan Mikhly said they were “heartbroken” to let down their customers and called it a difficult decision to close their North Williamsburg cafe on Driggs Avenue.
The announcement comes three months after the cafe shuttered both its Alphabet City and North Williamsburg locations in February.
Longtime customers launched a GoFundMe and the owners started their own fundraiser, bringing in $250,000 within days.
Both locations reopened in March but the owners said all those efforts still weren’t enough to increase sales in Brooklyn.
“This was not a decision we made lightly. We tried partnering with other local businesses, hiring an events manager, adding more programming, and other ways to bring in foot traffic, but despite our best efforts, sales have just been too weak to support the store,” the co-owners wrote in their Instagram post last week.
Mikhly previously told Gothamist the donated money would be used to make capital improvements such as replacing the air conditioning system and hiring new management.
Boris & Horton first opened in 2018, billing itself as the first “Department of Health-approved dog-friendly café.”
The location on Avenue A will remain open. The owners said business in Alphabet City is doing well there and they will dedicate all their resources to keeping that cafe sustainable.
“We’ll miss all of our regulars in Brooklyn and all of the amazing artists and brands that teamed up with us over the last year,” the owners said on social media. They didn’t immediately respond to a call and email on Sunday requesting comment.
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Karen Yi
Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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