The tribulations of the bunny cafe were fairly well documented online earlier this year, until the would-be owner hid all their tweets: https://old.reddit.com/r/pittsburgh/comments/zz7x1j/update_on_the_bunny_cafe_from_its_owner/ Not so much lack of demand as gross incompetence, financial illiteracy, and a lack of animal safety. There were also some cat cafes here, which added their own share of drama to the yinzer internet (search Black Cat Market). I know cafes exist in other parts of the world, but I think there are too many obstacles in place to make them viable here.

I have to wonder if the risks of a niche, non-animal small business would be mitigated somewhat by owning the space and living above it. I've sometimes fantasized about opening a little stationary store or something, if I were wealthy enough to not care about whether I turned a profit.