ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Animal cafés are becoming more popular around  Florida. Most are fun places where cats and dogs spend time with guests while enjoying a cup of coffee. But one café is doing something different.

The newly opened Capybara Café in St. Augustine has guests lining up to go one-on-one with large rodents.

Café creator Stephanie Martin and her husband say the animals, typically found in South America, are unique to the area.

“They are actually the world’s largest rodent,” Martin says of capybaras.

Martin, who owns the Noah’s Ark Sanctuary in Hastings, wanted a place to share her love for capybaras, so she opened the Capybara Café.

“The best part of my day is that I get to take care of animals every day, which is not work for me,” Martin says.

Martin says they love to eat.

“Oh, these little guys eat between 3 and 4 pounds a day. And that is just as babies," Martin says. "And when they are adults, they actually eat between 6 to 8 pounds of food a day each.”

Martin says animal cafés are very common in Korea and Tokyo.

"I think in the Philippines they have some as well," she says. "This gives people the up-close and personal vantage of these different animals.” 

Guests to the café may also encounter a tortoise, gerbils and even a python, and Martin says she plans to introduce other animals in the future.

Martin says reservations are highly recommended and can be made on the café's website.

The cost for the capybara encounter is $49 per person and includes food to feed the animals.

There is also an exotic animal encounter that includes multiple animals and is $99 per person.

Capybara Café in St. Augustine is located at 105 S. Ponce De Leon Blvd. For more information, visit the café's website.