Surfers Paradise’s Crazy Cat Cafe’s desperately hoping for domestic travel to save business

The owner of a renowned Surfers Paradise cafe has made a desperate plea for help, with business down an astonishing 90% in the absence of interstate tourists.

THE owner of a renowned Surfers Paradise cafe says she is at risk of losing her business unless the border opens and domestic travel gets moving again.

Crazy Cat Cafe, which has been trading in the city’s tourism hotspot since September 2016, closed for nine weeks from March 23.

But since reopening doors two weeks ago, owner Jackie Moureau has been struggling to keep the business afloat.

Surfers Paradise’s Crazy Cat Cafe owner Jackie Moureau with Andy the Tundra Cat. Photograph: Jason O’Brien.

BEHIND THE SCENES AT CRAZY CAT CAFE

She is pleading for locals to get out and visit and for tourism to get moving again.

“I reckon at least 70 to 80% (of our income is from) tourists,” she said.

“Our business is now only operating at 10%.

“We don’t have too many international (customers). Even before COVID-19, everybody had to sign in and we ask where they are from. Most of them are within Australia.

“Normally we have Victorians, people from South Australia, New South Wales, even Tasmania visit.

“But we’re not going to get them this year because the borders are still closed and they are thinking they won’t open them up until September.

“I don’t know how our business is going to sustain until September unless we get tourism coming through.

“We’re in sinking sand at the moment.”

Mrs Moureau says the cafe is only doing 10% of its normal trade. Photograph: Jason O’Brien.

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In bid to save the family-owned business, Mrs Moureau has started a GoFundMe page.

She’s hoping to raise $25,000 to keep the business going and to help cover resources for her 16 working cats.

“For a week, just to break even, we have to make $5,500 for our business insurance, overhead, staff wages, cats, everything,” Mrs Moureau said.

“At the moment we are lucky if we get $1000 a week.

“(The $25,000) would help us to try and keep going. For rent, staff and cats.

“The cats are our main priority.

“We have 16 cats. We feed them dry food, raw meat, they have vet bills. They are working cats so we need to take extra care of them.”

Mrs Moureau has set up a GoFundMe appeal to try and save her business. Photograph: Jason O'Brien.

The GoFundMe page was set up on April 6 and had raised $1,705 from 29 people as of 9.30am today.

The Crazy Cafe Cafe is trading seven days a week, with weekday hours reduced.

“Weekends have been great but in the week - we are lucky to get three or four people through in a day (during the week),” Mrs Moureau said.

“Last weekend was our second weekend. On Saturday we had a great turnout of people.

“Normally we have 16 people into the cat compound at one time during a session but now it’s only eight.

“I think it’s a really nice time for locals to visit Surfers because it’s not touristy.

“It’s a perfect time for people to visit as all our prices are the same but you’re getting half the amount of people, so more one-on-one time with cats, and Surfers is quiet too.”