CAPE MAY — Enjoying an espresso-based beverage and chatting about cats available for adoption is the business model behind Hippie Kitty Coffee.
The coffee shop is unlike a standard business because it is housed in an A-frame trailer on wheels, which gives owner Renay Wright the opportunity to pop-up shop wherever she wants.
The idea of a coffee shop was something Wright had been bouncing around in her head for quite some time. She was taken with the concept of cat cafés, which have become popular in the past few decades. It is essentially a shop where customers can enjoy coffee while interacting with free-roaming, adoptable cats.
“I kept saying that’s what I was going to make happen, and it felt unattainable with the costs, logistics and [physical] space,” she said, adding that in the meantime, she began working at a coffee shop to learn the business and become a barista before segueing into her own business.
Ending up with a mobile coffee shop was a fluke, as was Wright moving to Cape May County.
“We met a magician who was from Cape May while we were on a cruise ship, and he said we had to see the town he was from,” Wright said, adding that she and her husband were living in San Franscisco at the time.
Wright, 44, and her husband, Paul, moved to Cape May and shifted from professional dancers to owners and operators of Airbnb rentals. Wright also works as a local yoga instructor.
Originally from Dallas, Wright has called Villas home for the past eight years. It only felt right for Wright to relocate her parents from Dallas to Lower Township. They brought a trailer with them that became the impetus behind Hippie Kitty Coffee.
“It sat in the backyard and I kept looking at it, thinking if we can turn it into something,” she said. “We just thought, why don’t I transform it into a coffee shop on wheels and start posting online about adoptable cats and this would be a segue into opening my own cat café?”
Trailer renovation
The process of remodeling the trailer into a functional, mobile coffee shop was not without its hiccups. Despite life getting in the way, Wright as able to launch the business in the last quarter of 2025.
She was able to attend a few local events, including the annual West Cape May Community Christmas Parade, and said the community support and feedback has been excellent.
The trailer, painted a light lavender, is a good conversation starter.
“I post photos and bios of adoptable cats, and sometimes dogs, so I can talk to people about what our mission is and how to follow us online to see adoptable [pets],” she said.
What’s in a name?
When it came to choosing a name for her business, Wright played around with words until she found the right fit.
“I always see myself as a little hippie and I had a vision of the logo first, a peace sign with cat ears,” she said. “I played around with the words and Hippie Kitty just stuck.”
Despite being from Texas, Wright considers herself a California girl after living there for many years. It was only fitting that the coffee she serves in the trailer came from a roaster based in Santa Cruz.
The drink options include espresso-based beverages with a rotating seasonal drink menu. Favorites from the menu included a caramel mocha and a pecan pie latte.
Tying in a cat-related name to her business, as well as promoting available cats for adoption, has always been Wright’s focus.
No matter where she was living as a traveling dancer, Wright always made it a priority to volunteer with local animal rescues and shelters. She is still heavily involved in rescue and volunteers at a local spay-and-neuter clinic through Animal Outreach of Cape May County based in West Cape May.
Social media success
As she worked to make her business mobile, Wright was in the habit of posting about local cats available for adoption.
In August, Wright posted a video about a cat named Tiger that had been at the Rio Grande PetSmart for more than four years. The clip went viral, amassing more than a half-million views. Subsequent follow-up videos garnered even more views, until a man in Ohio saw the video of the brown tabby.
“I just made a little video and posted on my Instagram not thinking anything of it,” Wright said. “It was a difficult case to get adopted, he was a senior cat and he had special medical needs.”
Wright worked with PetSmart staff to take different videos of Tiger to showcase his adoptable personality. Tiger ultimately got adopted by the man from Ohio, who drove more than eight hours to Rio Grande.
“I cried for a week straight when [Tiger] left the PetSmart adopted,” she said. “That was a moment of, ‘OK, what I’m doing is working, so I’m going to keep posting and sharing.’”
The new year
Looking forward, Wright hopes to continue popping up locally at festivals and farmers’ markets, as well as private events.
“I’m learning that you can have different conversations with people and spread the word about animal rescue to people who might not walk into a cat café,” she said. “They’re coming for coffee, but we can talk about animal rescue which is cool.”
Wright said she always has her eye on opening a brick-and-mortar location.
“It might not happen in 2026, but I’m actively looking for a place where we can house cats from the county and maybe pop up the trailer in front,” she said.
Follow Hippie Kitty Coffee on Facebook and Instagram @hippiekittycoffee.
