Published January 16 2025
In La Roche-sur-Yon, a unique place has been added to the local businesses: Le Chalet. A cat café, which offers an immersive experience, surrounded by four-legged companions to adopt. Combining friendliness and gentleness, this ethical establishment offers much more than just a coffee break.
The concept
This unique place has a history of its own thanks to its creator, Alexandre Davail, who at just 25 years old managed to bring his project to life, thanks to his passion for animals and his perseverance.
The bar gets its name from the contraction of "Cat" and "Milk." "Milk" refers to the coffee shop atmosphere, while "cat" emphasizes the central place of felines in the concept.
Le Chalet offers a wide range of products! Unlike many other tea rooms, Le Chalet has obtained a license 4, which allows its visitors to vary their pleasures. We therefore find a wide range of hot drinks (chocolate, tea, coffee, milk, etc.) but also beers (including beers from Belgian and Vendée abbeys), wine and whisky. The idea is to add a friendly and classy dimension to the place. By coming to have a whisky by the fire for example. "Reasoned alcohol consumption can be very classy" as Alexandre indicates.
On the food side, Le Chalet will also surprise you with its range of appetizer platters (cold meats, cheese) as well as sweet treats (pastries, cookies, etc.).
Animal welfare at the heart of the project
The comfort of the cats is essential for Alexandre, which is why he limits the number of cats to 5/6 within the structure. This avoids bad smells, allows the cats to have a better understanding between them and allows visitors to interact individually with each animal and get to know it well.
To preserve the comfort of the animals, golden rules are applied to ensure harmonious cohabitation.
On the health side, Alexandre leaves nothing to chance, this is surely due to his past in the catering world. The litter boxes are in a separate room, easily accessible for the animals, which is cleaned 3 to 4 times a day.
The Chalet is divided according to the principle, known in catering, of "forward march". This is the fact of not mixing clean items with dirty items. This is why the bar where orders are prepared is away from the area where there are cats. This also allows people who are less fond of cats or who are allergic to them to enjoy it too!
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Part of the bar without physical proximity to the cats
An ethical network
The cats up for adoption in the bar are up for adoption and come from the association "Le Cœur sur la Patte 85". A structure based in Herbiers (85), which works for animal welfare. The goal is to give visibility to a small association that has fewer donations.
At the Chalet, basically we come to drink a coffee and not to adopt a cat. Some people even arrive with very strong preconceptions about cats. It is with this kind of concept "like at home" that opinions change! After drinking a coffee with a cat on your lap, by creating a contact, which is not found in shelters, that we come to combine business with pleasure and create an ethical network.
“Come for coffee, stay for the cats, and maybe leave with one.”
A local story
The Chalet is part of an approach to promoting local stakeholders and local initiatives. Indeed, during the renovation of the place, Alexandre called upon craftsmen from neighboring municipalities, thus creating authentic links.
On the delicacies side, Le Chalet collaborates with local businesses such as Le Labo et My Cookies, which provide quality sweet snacks. For its adoption component, Le Chalet is partnering with The Heart on the Paw 85, an association based in Les Herbiers.
This choice reflects a desire to help a local, human-sized structure. Establishments that are often less supported than national organizations, while still providing visibility to their actions.
A way of writing a beautiful collective story, carried by local, human and ethical initiatives.
Projects under consideration, a concept in constant evolution
The Chalet is constantly evolving to offer a unique experience to its visitors. Alexandre wants to strengthen the lodge atmosphere by offering afterwork evenings or by allowing the privatization of the place on certain occasions. These initiatives aim to make the Chalet a real space for meetings and sharing. A place where everyone can enjoy a warm and immersive atmosphere.
The goal: to transform each visit to the Chalet into a suspended moment and to prolong the moment!