There’s a hot new hangout for pets in Bay St. Louis, and humans might be a bit envious of all the tasty offerings for their four-legged friends. Café BoneJour opened on Blaize Avenue in Old Town on June 8, and since then, pets have been pouring in.
Owner Roxanne DeNicola, a New Orleans native, owns two PJ’s coffee shop franchises in the New Orleans area, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to extend her business into providing tasty things for four-legged friends. Besides, she’s the proud pet parent of five dogs: Brew, a Goldendoodle; Gracyn, an Old English sheepdog; Stassi, a Shih Tzu; Harper, a cavalier King Charles spaniel; and Finley, a pug.
DeNicola moved to Pass Christian in October. Not long after, she saw a need for quality pet food when she was looking for raw food to add to her dogs’ kibble.
“I’ve always been very particular about the products I use and the food I feed them,” she says. “No other place on the Mississippi Gulf Coast offers what we offer here in the quality of the pet food, treats and products.”
She had been planning to open start a business on the Coast, and the seed for Café BoneJour was planted. Her fiancé came up with the shop’s clever name.
Today, pet owners can find a full selection of frozen raw food, kibble and canned food and toys for dogs, as well as an array of food, treats and toys for cats.
But it’s the special dog treats that really draw attention.
“Our dog beer is very popular,” DeNicola says. With cute names like “IPA Lot in the Yard,” “Tail Chasin’ Blonde” and “Session… Squirrel!,” Good Boy and Good Girl Dog Beer, made in Houston, doesn’t contain any alcohol but gives pets a refreshing opportunity to join their humans in enjoying a cold one.
Then there are the over-the-top treats. S’mores, macarons, cookies, donuts, bagels, whoopie pies and tacos are just some of the options that look amazingly like their human-food inspirations. And coming soon: barkuterie boards.
“Actually, everything in the treats is human grade,” DeNicola says. “They’re all top quality, so humans really could eat them.”
She plans to start making her own treats, but the kitchen space is now being used for order processing.
“I’m not baking in the store yet,” she says. “My kitchen is always full!”
For those who aren’t an easy distance to The Bay, DeNicola can ship orders placed on the store’s website, www.cafebonejour. com. She also has a YouTube channel, Simply Rox, which features grooming, daily life vlogs, favorite products and more. The channel currently has more than 21,000 subscribers.
WANT TO GO?
Café BoneJour
146 Blaize Ave.,
Bay St. Louis
(228) 364-2685
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday