Kirkwood’s main street has gone to the dogs—and cats.

Last November, Whisker Station Cat Café & Lounge (212 N. Kirkwood) opened, and Salty Paws (110 N. Kirkwood) ice cream bar and bakery for dogs is slated to debut nearby on June 4.

Whisker Station serves as a “giant foster home” for cats and kittens awaiting their forever homes. Sara and Dan McGinnis bought the store’s building in March 2020, just as the country went into lockdown. With a background working and volunteering at the Humane Society of Missouri, as well as fostering cats and kittens, Sara has extensive experience in animal welfare. An engineer, Dan did much of the renovations himself alongside his father, also an engineer, and several other family members. The result is a welcoming, light-filled space that could be featured in a design magazine. Sara calls the look “rustic chic,” the perfect term for the intersection of reclaimed wood, industrial blacks and grays, and soft textiles. The relaxed environment created for meeting cats is a far cry from the average shelter’s meet-and-greet room.

Cats and kittens at the café come from Heartland Humane Society, a foster-based rescue in Wentzville, which transfers in the cats from rural animal control facilities. After a 24-hour acclimation in a suite at the café, new arrivals get to mingle among the other resident cats. Sara says about 15-16 cats is the ideal number for the space. Thanks to the open, lofty design—complete with perches and hammocks along the walls and deep windowsills that make ideal napping zones—you might never know that many cats roam freely there. (Another reason you’d never know: The McGinnises installed a special ventilation system in the litter box room.)

Sara says they chose Kirkwood for the café, because they live in the area and for its “walkable” nature, explaining, “I feel like it’s the last walkable town as you head west.” Customers can stop in or make a reservation online for a one-hour cuddle session with the cats. The weekends fill up fairly quickly, Sara says, especially right when the café opens, so reservations are recommended on Saturdays and Sundays. For $12, you can spend an hour with the cats, waving feathered wand toys, watching them use the exercise wheel, or simply sitting on a soft chair next to a sleeping kitty soaking up the sun.

For the moment, the café offers prepackaged snacks and drinks, including Keurig coffee. Sara says she may open more food and drink selections in the future but would first like to get the cats settled. In addition to its regular operations, the café can be booked for private parties. Kirkwood-based Sweet Peace Yoga also holds classes there every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. (The classes sometimes end early, so yogis can cuddle with the cats.)

Another Kirkwood collaboration is with Reclaim Renew, a custom furniture store that repurposes wood into tables, chairs, and, for the café, cat perches. Using wood from Reclaim Renew and his son’s custom-made cutting boards, Dan McGinnis built a cat tree that is as artistic as it is functional. The cutting boards are for sale at the café along with T-shirts, mugs, cat toys, and feline-inspired jewelry. Every detail in the café has been carefully planned, down to the whimsical cat wallpaper in the restroom.

Since the café opened in November, Sara says, 109 cats have been adopted, with the adopted cats’ “passports” (picture cards used for sharing information prior to adoption) hanging on one wall.

Salty Paws

Kathy Rose has always wanted to own a franchise. A stenographer by trade, she began researching options and came across Salty Paws, a dog ice cream shop and bakery that first opened in Delaware. Rose, who loves dogs, decided the concept was exactly what she wanted to do. “I can’t believe my life is like this right now,” she says of the store’s forthcoming opening.

Like the McGinnises, Rose chose Kirkwood for its main street and busy foot traffic. Rose also cites the many dog-friendly restaurants in the area as a plus and appreciates being among Kirkwood’s business owners. The powdered ice cream base is either lactose-free or made with goat’s milk and comes in such flavors as vanilla, maple bacon, peanut butter, pumpkin, and blueberry. Toppings include dehydrated chicken or liver, blueberries, coconut, sweet potato fries, and yogurt chips.

Dogs can dine in or carry out, with bowls, cones, and waffle cones to choose from, and pre-packaged pints will be available for sale. The bakery will feature cookies, cakes, and other baked goods, along with doggie gear such as collars, leashes, and toys, some of which will be decorated in St. Louis sports themes.

Rose recognizes that for many, pets are family and bring great happiness to their owners’ lives. She thinks the shop will be the perfect place to begin or end the day having a “joyous time.”