After $250G Fundraiser, Dog Café Saves East Village Store but Forced to Close Brooklyn Branch Once Again

New York’s first dog café, Boris & Horton, has announced the closure of its Williamsburg location for the second time, after an initial announcement on February 15 prompted the $250,000 fundraiser that saved both the Williamsburg and East Village cafés.

Evidently, the donations didn’t cut it, as the father-daughter co-owners Coppy Holzman and Logan Mikhly announced via Instagram (@borisandhorton) on May 21: “After much consideration and evaluation, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our Brooklyn location at the end of this month. We know that many of you donated in the hopes of keeping Brooklyn open, and we are heartbroken to let you down.” The post then goes on to say that they tried partnering with other local businesses, hiring an events manager, adding more programming, and “other ways to bring in foot traffic,” but to no avail.

It’s no easy feat keeping a small business alive in New York City, but followers of Boris & Horton seemed disillusioned by the timing of the quarter-million public donation and closing of the Brooklyn location. Comments under the post announcing the closure read, “I hope you never reopen and I hope a better, more ethical business takes your place...”

“Will you be returning the $250,000 donated 2 months ago to keep this location open?” read another and “Take this as a lesson that you should donate your money to people in need, not privileged people trying to run a small business in Williamsburg.”

Social media can be ruthless, of course, but this is not the first time customers and followers of the café expressed concern since the owners announced they would try and save both locations on February 22. In an Instagram video posted to @borisandhorton on February 23, co-owners Holzman and Mikhly introduced the concept of donations from supporters, as well as subscription boxes that they later implemented ranging from $40 to $120. “The money from these boxes and donations will go to a deep clean and paint of our East Village location, replace air conditioning, replace some old furniture...” said Holzman in the video. “Our goal is $250,000 and if we can hit this goal, we’ll see you again very soon,” said his daughter and co-owner. Users commented under the video, “How will new furniture and AC solve the business problems that led to your closing...” and “This feels like a money grab before still shutting the doors on the cafe.” These concerns did not eclipse the otherwise overwhelming support from customers, as many commented affirmations of their dedication to keeping the business alive: “TAKE MY MONEY!” wrote one user.

The Boris & Horton team declined to comment for Straus News, but they told the publication Greenpointers that “The funds were allocated to pay the salaries for a General Manager and an Events Manager and to make some repairs to our East Village location including updating our HVAC system and some refrigeration so we could continue to run through the warm months.” They continued to explain that their thinking with the Events Manager was to increase evening programming, therefore maximizing revenue throughout the day. While that succeeded in the East Village location, “sales in Brooklyn are worse than they have ever been.”

It seems Boris & Horton bit off more than they can chew trying to keep both locations afloat. Let’s hope the East Village café can continue thriving for the sake of the city’s dog owners and coffee drinkers alike.