The retail space housing NYC's first dog cafe, Boris & Horton, is for rent on Avenue A

Top photo by Stacie Joy

The retail space at 197 Avenue A on the NW corner of 12th Street is now on the rental market. 

This has been the home for the past six-plus years to Boris & Horton, the city's first dog cafe. 

Early last week, ownership (daughter-father Logan Mikhly and Coppy Holzman) posted notices that they would close at the month's end. This development comes even after a successful crowdfunding campaign and a newly enacted subscription plan earlier this year. 

From an Instagram post on Nov. 11: 

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. 

Last Wednesday, the retail listing arrived on Loopnet. (REQCE is the broker.) The asking rent for the 3,000-square-foot space (as you may recall, B&H expanded and combined storefronts in 2018) is available upon request...

In the initial Instagram post, Mikhly and Holzman said they've met with potential suitors but have yet to close a deal. 

Unless a new suitor arrives ASAP, Boris & Horton will shut down at the end of next week.

Boris & Horton preparing to close East Village cafe at the end of the month

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

At Boris & Horton on the NW corner of Avenue A and 12th Street, management has posted notices that NYC's first dog cafe will be closing at the end of the month... they're also asking for any job leads for their staff...

Nine months after a successful crowdfunding campaign and newly enacted subscription plan, Boris & Horton announced that it would have to close unless it found a buyer for the business. 

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.

We reached out for more details.

"We've decided not to do press and just work on connecting with potential buyers or closing down," Mikhly told us. She promised to keep us posted if there were any updates. 

The space was pretty mellow late yesterday afternoon...

Following a customer fundraiser, Mikhly and Holzman reopened the Avenue A location in March after a deep clean and reorganization. They announced they had hired a general manager and an events manager and updated the HVAC system and refrigeration. 

Boris & Horton still had to shutter its year-plus-old Williamsburg location in May.