diff --git a/iox_catalog/src/mem.rs b/iox_catalog/src/mem.rs
index ed2821c426..398a16210d 100644
--- a/iox_catalog/src/mem.rs
+++ b/iox_catalog/src/mem.rs
@@ -7,12 +7,31 @@ use crate::interface::{
 };
 use async_trait::async_trait;
 use std::convert::TryFrom;
+use std::fmt::Formatter;
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
 
-struct MemCatalog {
+/// In-memory catalog that implements the `RepoCollection` and individual repo traits fromt
+/// the catalog interface.
+#[derive(Default)]
+pub struct MemCatalog {
     collections: Mutex<MemCollections>,
 }
 
+impl MemCatalog {
+    /// return new initialized `MemCatalog`
+    pub fn new() -> Self {
+        Self::default()
+    }
+}
+
+impl std::fmt::Debug for MemCatalog {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        let c = self.collections.lock().expect("mutex poisoned");
+        write!(f, "MemCatalog[ {:?} ]", c)
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Default, Debug)]
 struct MemCollections {
     kafka_topics: Vec<KafkaTopic>,
     query_pools: Vec<QueryPool>,
diff --git a/iox_catalog/src/postgres.rs b/iox_catalog/src/postgres.rs
index dd49e27996..e5bcd20f4e 100644
--- a/iox_catalog/src/postgres.rs
+++ b/iox_catalog/src/postgres.rs
@@ -16,41 +16,46 @@ const IDLE_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(500);
 #[allow(dead_code)]
 const SCHEMA_NAME: &str = "iox_catalog";
 
-/// Connect to the catalog store.
-pub async fn connect_catalog_store(
-    app_name: &'static str,
-    schema_name: &'static str,
-    dsn: &str,
-) -> Result<Pool<Postgres>, sqlx::Error> {
-    let pool = PgPoolOptions::new()
-        .min_connections(1)
-        .max_connections(MAX_CONNECTIONS)
-        .connect_timeout(CONNECT_TIMEOUT)
-        .idle_timeout(IDLE_TIMEOUT)
-        .test_before_acquire(true)
-        .after_connect(move |c| {
-            Box::pin(async move {
-                // Tag the connection with the provided application name.
-                c.execute(sqlx::query("SET application_name = '$1';").bind(app_name))
-                    .await?;
-                let search_path_query = format!("SET search_path TO {}", schema_name);
-                c.execute(sqlx::query(&search_path_query)).await?;
-
-                Ok(())
-            })
-        })
-        .connect(dsn)
-        .await?;
-
-    // Log a connection was successfully established and include the application
-    // name for cross-correlation between Conductor logs & database connections.
-    info!(application_name=%app_name, "connected to catalog store");
-
-    Ok(pool)
+/// In-memory catalog that implements the `RepoCollection` and individual repo traits.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct PostgresCatalog {
+    pool: Pool<Postgres>,
 }
 
-struct PostgresCatalog {
-    pool: Pool<Postgres>,
+impl PostgresCatalog {
+    /// Connect to the catalog store.
+    pub async fn connect(
+        app_name: &'static str,
+        schema_name: &'static str,
+        dsn: &str,
+    ) -> Result<Self> {
+        let pool = PgPoolOptions::new()
+            .min_connections(1)
+            .max_connections(MAX_CONNECTIONS)
+            .connect_timeout(CONNECT_TIMEOUT)
+            .idle_timeout(IDLE_TIMEOUT)
+            .test_before_acquire(true)
+            .after_connect(move |c| {
+                Box::pin(async move {
+                    // Tag the connection with the provided application name.
+                    c.execute(sqlx::query("SET application_name = '$1';").bind(app_name))
+                        .await?;
+                    let search_path_query = format!("SET search_path TO {}", schema_name);
+                    c.execute(sqlx::query(&search_path_query)).await?;
+
+                    Ok(())
+                })
+            })
+            .connect(dsn)
+            .await
+            .map_err(|e| Error::SqlxError { source: e })?;
+
+        // Log a connection was successfully established and include the application
+        // name for cross-correlation between Conductor logs & database connections.
+        info!(application_name=%app_name, "connected to catalog store");
+
+        Ok(Self { pool })
+    }
 }
 
 impl RepoCollection for Arc<PostgresCatalog> {
@@ -348,6 +353,7 @@ fn is_fk_violation(e: &sqlx::Error) -> bool {
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
+    use crate::postgres::PostgresCatalog;
     use crate::{
         create_or_get_default_records, interface::NamespaceSchema, validate_or_insert_schema,
     };
@@ -395,10 +401,11 @@ mod tests {
 
     async fn setup_db() -> (Arc<PostgresCatalog>, KafkaTopic, QueryPool) {
         let dsn = std::env::var("DATABASE_URL").unwrap();
-        let pool = connect_catalog_store("test", SCHEMA_NAME, &dsn)
-            .await
-            .unwrap();
-        let postgres_catalog = Arc::new(PostgresCatalog { pool });
+        let postgres_catalog = Arc::new(
+            PostgresCatalog::connect("test", SCHEMA_NAME, &dsn)
+                .await
+                .unwrap(),
+        );
 
         let (kafka_topic, query_pool, _) = create_or_get_default_records(2, &postgres_catalog)
             .await