Last weekend, RMFR visited the brand new, one-of-a-kind-in-the-U.S. parrot cafe, The Perch, which opened at the end of April on Eighth Street.
The bright space includes a nice sitting area and a retail space offering an impressive selection of cages, parrot toys, feed and accessories like manzanita branches. Food-wise, the menu is sleek and no-nonsense: juice, soda, tea, coffee from local roaster Spanish Peaks. Grab a croissant or cookie in the case and pay for it all with just five bucks.
In another corner sit the cages with birds for adoption. It’s immaculate, all the cage papers crisp and new (no small feat, as bird owners know.) The day we visited, there were a handful of macaws, a small flock of budgies, a cockatoo, and a couple other small parrots. One African grey was in the midst of being adopted.
The Perch is a partner of the Metro Denver Parrot Rescue, an agency for large birds collected through surrender from Front Range shelters. MDPR supplies the Perch with adoptees.
We spoke with Perch co-owner and MDPR operations and adoptions director Michele Wolf, who says that for business in the first week and a half of its life, the Perch has done quite well, with over 200 people attending the opening weekend. As far as volunteering, she says that the Perch will be ready to start a program by mid-summer, once some administrative housekeeping is finished.
We then got down to business and signed a required waiver to handle the birds. Friendly employees milled about with helpful information, so rest assured you won’t be by yourself. We sat down in front of a peachy little conure named Starburst and petted him for a while (he had several adoption families lined up already). Then we moved on to his neighbor, a ring-necked parakeet, who hammed it up, then puked a bit in my hand (a thoughtful gesture).
Adoption prices vary widely, depending on the type of parrot: $10 for the budgies, up to $500 for a macaw. The new cages on display start at about $400 and go up from there, with consigned ones a bit cheaper. Each is outfitted with a guide as to what type of parrot it’s suitable for. To that end, the Perch is a great place for parrot newbies, who may be interested in exotic birds, but not have much experience with them.
[Images: Bryce Crawford]
