Fishtown’s beloved Rocket Cat Cafe is not actually returning

Fishtown residents and business owners Shannon Leocata Figueras and Justice Figueras will sell no wine before its time. This much is clear because LeoFigs, their winery and restaurant, has been “coming soon” for months at Frankford and Susquehanna Avenues.

Recently, the LeoFigs signs came down and a new one appeared in the window, showing a drawing of a cat wearing a space helmet while watching a rocket circling the moon.

Could it be? the neighbors buzzed. Might Rocket Cat Cafe, the scruffy but beloved coffee shop/zine shop/hangout that closed five years ago nearby, be revived in the space?

Nope. The sign was a ruse, Justice Figueras said. When anything opens in Fishtown, “everybody’s like, ‘Is it going to be another Rocket Cat?’ So we thought it was a little bit cheeky — maybe get us some awareness before we posted some jobs.”

LeoFigs — whose opening is sorta-kinda-definitely set for mid-December, probably — is now hiring for all positions in the front and back of the house, including executive chef.

The Rocket Cat sign, coming down soon, will also serve as LeoFigs’ first real post on its newly scrubbed Instagram account. “I basically erased all of our old [posts] because we went through a rebrand,” he said. “It was good timing for the Rocket Cat situation.” The original logo, designed by their children, has been subbed, as well.

“We definitely put the neighborhood in a tizzy,” said Shannon Figueras, an executive with Bacardi. “We didn’t realize everybody would get so excited, but we feel like we probably should say something.”

The tactic worked perhaps too well.

“We really can’t walk out on the sidewalk without somebody being like, ‘What’s going on?’” said Justice Figueras, a Jersey Shore-bred wine-business lifer, adding: “We didn’t think we could really offend anybody.”

Since the spring, months after it was first mentioned, LeoFigs’ concept has evolved substantially. The couple expanded their winemaking operation, including a recent trip to the Finger Lakes, where they purchased about three tons of grapes.

Up front, the design has shifted from a simple host counter to a full working counter that will become a showpiece for making fresh pasta. They said they’re doubling down on scratch pastas, breads, and even some pastries.

Despite the café buzz the Rocket Cat ruse generated, LeoFigs will not be a morning destination. “I don’t think there’s a crowd for lunch — there are a million cafés and coffee shops over here,” Justice Figueras said.

Instead, the plan is to open in the late afternoon and focus on dinner service, with “medium” plates inspired by a trip from Barcelona to Sicily. “We almost want to be more of a food hall for wine,” he said.