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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at App State chapter.

Going to Appalachian State University can be fun if you’re into interacting with nature. There’s plenty of places to hike, ski, snowboard, etc. Name an outdoor activity and there’s a good chance that you’ll find it in Boone. For those of us who observe rather than participate with nature, it can be difficult to find something to do.

Most people say that there isn’t much to do in Boone in general. While that may be true for some, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t things close by to enjoy. That’s where Brews & Mews comes in.

Brews & Mews is a cat cafe located in Lenoir, North Carolina. Open 10-5 Monday through Friday and 11-4 on Saturdays, Brews & Mews offers a space to destress with their cat room.

There are different options of what to do and get, but my partner and I went the route of the cat room for an hour. The cats at the cat cafe are rescues, which can be adopted. Several furry friends were met, played with, and admired by myself, my partner, and the two other individuals in the room. Some could be feisty, some slept, but overall they interacted well with people.

I won’t lie and say I didn’t get a little sad when they didn’t want to interact with me, but that’s okay because I snagged some cute candids of the cats that were with my partner. I will say that I had the honor of three different cats booping their noses to mine. Suffice to say the whole ordeal was precious.

Sad to say that our hour went by rather quickly and it was someone else’s turn for the cat room. That didn’t mean we left right after, though.

Brews & Mews is a cat cafe after all. We grabbed some coffee (which was delicious, by the way) and looked around the place. They have various mirrors and unique cat paintings. They also have cat stickers, and stickers of the local shops. I bought three.

We thanked them before leaving and as the weather was just right, decided to explore the town of Lenoir a bit. We ended up walking through two Antique stores and a local bookstore. At the Antique stores, I found Cheetah Girls napkins and Valentine’s of Disney Princess and Powerpuff Girls. Each store had hidden treasures that were different from one another. One was bigger and had old yearbooks, tea sets, and jewelry. The other one focused on clothing. The bookstore was nicely lit and organized. They too had past yearbooks and some CDs. I was tempted to buy their bookmarks made up of scenes from the Harry Potter series, but decided against it.

The day was beautiful, I enjoyed the company, and not only got to go somewhere different, I got to see something different.

Whether you’re going alone, with a partner, friends, or family, Brews & Mews is definitely worth checking out.

Sophia Alayna

App State '24

Sophia is a Senior at Appalachian State University. She is pursuing a degree in English Creative Writing and Gender, Women's, & Sexualities studies! Sophia enjoys writing, getting in her feels, and creating/maintaining connections with loved ones.