IRVINE, Calif. – Fans can often be seen waiting in long lines, sometimes with full-on camping gear, for the doors to open up at big box stores for mega Black Friday deals. But in Los Angeles, fans waited hours for the doors to open to a cafe. So is the food that good?
Forget the food. These fans lined up for Hello Kitty!
The first Hello Kitty Café in the United States opened July 15 at the Irvine Spectrum Center mall just south of Los Angeles, reports USA Today. The restaurant was sold out of its baked goods by 2 pm and had to close early, and has been selling out every day since. “Our pastries are baked every morning, and we bake enough for 500 to 600 people. So once we're sold out, we're sold out,” Allan Tea, co-owner of the Hello Kitty Café, told the news source.
And the customers keep coming—and waiting. “[On Tuesdays] the line is only about 30 minutes long. Friday, Saturday and Sunday—it’s been about five to six hours,” Tea added.
For more than 40 years, the Hello Kitty brand has gained a wildly popular, almost cult-like following, offering everything from Tiffany’s jewelry to iPhone cases featuring the cat-like character created by Sanrio Co. Ltd. in Japan.
The new U.S.-based Hello Kitty Café, a pop-up cafe designed within a metal shipping container, features a small outdoor seating area and a decorative selfie wall. It serves pastries and other sweets, as well as artisanal sodas and coffee drinks utilizing Portola Coffee Lab coffee and daily tea service. USA Today writes that the most popular item has been the Hello Kitty birthday cake, and the most popular drinks have been the Iced Mocha and Strawberry Mint Tea.
The cafe has a year-long residency at the Irvine Spectrum Center, but the news source says it has been in talks for a brick and mortar location. The restaurant also plans to start carrying Hello Kitty merchandise such as mugs and T-shirts.
“As you can imagine, having the only Hello Kitty cafe in the United States in our shopping center has been an incredible addition to the experience that we try to deliver at Irvine Spectrum Center,” Easther Liu, chief marketing officer for Irvine Company Retail Properties, told USA Today.