Thursday, February 15, 2024

Boris & Horton, NYC's first dog-friendly cafe, announces the 'devastating' decision to close on Feb. 26

Photo by Claire Esparros via the Boris & Horton website 

Updated 2/28: The cafe will remain open. Read more about it here.

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After six years anchoring the NW corner of Avenue A and 12th Street, Boris & Horton, the city's first dog-friendly cafe, announced today that it was closing effective Feb. 26. 

The notice came via Instagram from daughter-father co-owners Logan Mikhly and Coppy Holzman... the brand is also closing the newer Williamsburg location...
Ownership did not offer a specific reason behind the closings and said they were opting to "celebrate the great times we've had as New York's first dog-friendly cafe." 

For the next 11 days, Boris & Horton will sell merchandise and fixtures "at a deep discount." 

Later in 2018, Boris & Horton expanded its footprint in the building along Avenue A.

News of the closing shocked regulars, with the Instagram post prompting hundreds of comments in less than 20 minutes.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

I literally walked by this place last night and thought to myself "wow I'm surprised this place has made it so long..." woof

MTA614 said...

I wish they would discuss what didn't work, as there seems to be some valuable lessons in there for future would-be business owners. I didn't frequent them, but they often seemed to have at least a bit of a buzzing crowd. I wonder if the "dog flu" that's been going around the last few months has anything to do with this...

Anonymous said...

This is just the saddest. I was amazed at how they made it thru the pandemic with only the coffee window opened. And with the new store opening in Williamsburg I thought they were doing really well. Devastating. I had the coffee membership and my dog walks me there every morning. So sad, it’s been a great little community there

Anonymous said...

Whaaa…. Everytime I’ve come here the place is packed so can’t be due to lack of business. Sad. This place was great especially in winter times for dogs to come and play.

Sarah said...

Like others, I've only ever seen this place moderately to quite busy, so I'm surprised to hear this. Too bad. It seemed like a nice place. Can Ost Cafe reopen there?

Anonymous said...

Wow. The place is always packed. Surprised to see this

Anonymous said...

Hahah— oh Ost! ;)

Anonymous said...

I thought it was a great concept but I went 3 or 4 times and had either cold or kind of rude service. Maybe I just got unlucky though.

ProudGentrifier79 said...

Just another example of how it's nearly impossible to run a profitable small business in any desirable part of the city for very long due to the landlord's greed. I'm wondering how many of the illegal weed shops manage to turn a profit, I'm sure that's what will go in here next sigh. RIP :(

C J Holm said...

I owned Fat Cat Kitchen on 14th Street, and for a period of time we provided wholesale salads to Boris and Horton. While it's always sad to see a business close, it's especially sad when the owners (Logan and her father Coppy) are so nice. While our partnership was short-lived and a few years ago, I have good memories of working with them both. I wish them well. :(

Anonymous said...

I never went inside but it did always look pretty crowded. It may have been a case of too many people hanging around talking and playing with dogs and not enough purchasing product and leaving so someone else can sit there.

Anonymous said...

Great people. Great dogs. Very much heart breaking.

MrNiceGuy said...

This is a real loss for the neighborhood. It is such a cheerful spot, the dogs always brightened my day and the coffee is great (grilled cheese too!). They'll be sorely missed.

Time Out got a quote from the owners: "While we’re busy a lot of the time, there’s a lot of times where we’re just too slow,” Boris & Horton’s co-owner Logan Mikhly told Time Out New York via phone. “Our average ticket doesn’t meet our needs.” Rent, staffing and the cost of ingredients and materials are high, and increasing."

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/beloved-nyc-dog-cafe-boris-and-horton-is-closing-021524

Cory Zapatka said...

I was a huge fan of OST, and was skeptical that Boris & Horton would survive as long as they did in this space. The business model seemed unsustainable; not only did they need two storefronts to adhere to Department of Sanitation rules, the simple fact is that most people don't want to eat/drink in a room filled with dogs. It's really cute in theory but in practice, the few times I tried to go, it was loud and smelled like dog urine. What I'll miss most are the adoption drives they put on, which was the biggest service they did to the neighborhood and community.

Concerned Citizen said...

They are not sick and the city is not shutting them down. They are great friends of mine and it is sad to see them go.

elyse said...

This doesn't make any sense. That place was always packed.

Pat said...

I visited with my friends who have dogs and had good experiences there. I wish the owners and staff all the best. Looking at their site makes me wonder. They have events listed through June. I wonder what the backstory is.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful spot. This sucks. God damn inflation...

flo said...

Sure, not everyone wants to eat in a room with dogs, but dog people REALLY do. I'm so sad to see Boris & Horton go. I wish there was something we could do to keep them! They were a huge benefit to our neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

I really feel for these dogs as they got used to going there , hanging out with their friends and meeting new friends. Let's hope another dog friendly concept evolves soon in the neighborhood.

Garrett said...

I never knew nicer people. Nor had so much fun at a cafe. You’ll be greatly missed

Anonymous said...

there's still DBA in the hood where you can bring your dog!

Anonymous said...

Everyone who I encountered there was really kind and friendly. In the first year of the pandemic (at least) the owners were very generous to the 1st Avenue community refrigerator.

noble neolani said...

This is now a common end to any small cafe or restaurant which caters to a lunch crowd. People will park themselves in a cafe all afternoon and spend $5. Usually it is the laptop crowd which starves a cafe, this time it is the dog playdates. If you are not spending at least $20 each time at a place like this you not really supporting that business and it will fail.

Anonymous said...

Dogs need third spaces too. Rent is too high, makes for boring retail. Thanks for the good times B&H.

Anonymous said...

Such a loss of a vibrant community space. I went often with my dogs. They will be missed. Just the nicest people.

Anonymous said...

The people were nice and good-deed doers. And, gotta love dogs. Yet, I always missed Ost.