Photo from February by Stacie Joy
Nine months after a successful crowdfunding campaign and newly enacted subscription plan, Boris & Horton's ownership announced that unless they find a buyer for the business, the city's first dog-friendly cafe will close this month on 12th Street and Avenue A.
In an Instagram post on Friday, daughter-father co-owners Logan Mikhly and Coppy Holzman stated that the financial challenges returned even with hiring additional staffing and enhancing events.
"Despite these efforts, we've experienced a significant drop in our monthly subscriptions, with almost 90% churn, and our sales are slightly down compared to last year when we initially made the difficult decision to close."
Greenpointers noted that a few customers "had concerns about what happened to the money from the fundraiser, considering how quickly the cafe raised the money and made the decision to call it quits shortly after."
Some of these same concerns appeared in the comments section of the Instagram post. (Most comments were positive, with people sharing how much they liked the Avenue A space and enjoyed spending time there with their dogs.)
In March, after a deep clean and reorganization following a customer fundraiser, Mikhly and Holzman reopened the Avenue A location. They announced they had hired a general manager and an events manager and updated the HVAC system and refrigeration.
This past Feb. 16, Mikhly and Holzman announced that the cafe would close on Feb. 26 after six years of anchoring the NW corner of Avenue A and 12th Street.
They weren't making enough money, and as Holzman told NY1, "It's expensive to maintain top safety measures for a dog-friendly restaurant required by the Department of Health."
However, the unwavering support of the cafe's fans turned the tide. They devised ideas to keep the business going, such as selling subscription boxes filled with dog treats and merchandise from Boris & Horton's line of products.
Boris & Horton hit their $250,000 goal from Feb. 23-25.
In Friday's Instagram post, Mikhly and Holzman said they've met with potential suitors but have yet to close a deal.
"After almost seven wonderful years, we hold onto hope that Boris & Horton can begin a new chapter, perhaps with someone from our incredible community stepping in to carry on this journey."
millionaires should not crowdsource money from the community for their incredibly bad business mistakes.
ReplyDeleteSupporters won't want to hear it, but this is likely the correct outcome. A free market system shouldn't allocate resources for something that is too expensive/complicated to exist. Hopefully an alternative will crop up that's easier to run.
ReplyDeleteWhere did the money go that people gave them? It was over a quarter million. Think what Trinity Church Food Pantry could have done with that money.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame to see them close. With 250k raised I would not be suspicious of fraud. Just rent on Ave A + new HVAC would run a lot of that
ReplyDeleteA friend dragged me in there. It smelled of animal.
ReplyDeleteAs a dog lover, this place will always hold a special place in my heart. However, this was foreseen. I don't think the subscription model was sustainable. I came here a few weeks ago and the vibe was just off. There were about 4-5 people, who presumably were part of the subscription and near every day regulars as they all knew each other and were talking freely. That wasn't the problem. The problem is these 4 individuals were all spread out in the main room as if it were their living room, occupying tables that are meant for 3-4 people a table to themselves, including one who had a grand set up of 2 computers spread across the table along with all his paperwork. This forces others to sit in corners where they're missing half the experience of being around the dogs and defeats the purpose of coming here. B+H shouldn't have gone to a subscription model, instead they should have removed 80% of the power outlets to prevent people from spending the entire day there while only buying a cup of coffee and maybe a sandwich and some treats for the dog, spending a total of $20 for the entire day / person in a place that can't hold a ton of people isn't enough to sustain business. When this place first opened it was packed with people who would bring their dogs for 20-30 minutes and then move on but i didn't get the sense this is happening anymore with seating being limited.
ReplyDeleteHire a financial advisor.
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