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The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck Will Set Up Shop In Flushing Saturday
By
Evan Nicole Brown
Published Apr 26, 2019
Modified Apr 26, 2019
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Courtesy of Hello Kitty
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By
Evan Nicole Brown
Published Apr 26, 2019
Modified Apr 26, 2019
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Good news for Sanrio superfans: the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck is parking in front of The Shops at SkyView Center in Flushing, Queens on Saturday. (Details here!) The pink-and-white truck, which makes this East Coast road trip once a year, will be serving up merchandise and edible treats, all made in the image of the beloved anthropomorphic cat girl.
When Sanrio was officially established in 1973, the Japanese company immediately set out to make all things kawaii mainstream. The brand hit the pop culture jackpot when they introduced their Hello Kitty cartoon character just a year later, to much preteen fanfare. When merchandise brandishing her mouthless-face and red bow proved to be a marketing boon when she landed in the states in 1976, she got her own media franchise, chock full of branded products like stationary, apparel, and toys. The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck is yet another popular offshoot of the perpetual third-grader’s world.
This mobile experience began back in 2014 at the first ever Hello Kitty Con, which was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. (That same year, it was reported that Hello Kitty, then 40 years old, was worth a whopping $8 billion a year.) Urania Chien, one of the co-owners of the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck, says that “the concept came about as a marketing tool but it became its own thing,” adding: “The intention was always to open a brick-and-mortar cafe but we brought this truck to the convention to bring something new to the table and showcase what we’d be selling at the store... and it just became something sought after around the country.” Five years later, the cafe truck(s) shows no signs of slowing down.
There are actually two cafes-on-wheels that tour the country simultaneously—one on the West Coast and one on the East Coast. They only stop in each city once a year, so the frenzy that ensues isn’t that surprising. On Saturday morning the truck will be parked at the Main Mall Entrance on College Point Boulevard in Flushing. A line is expected. (Swing by Daiso inside afterwards if you want even more lines!)
“The truck has always done well in Flushing and there’s a huge fan base—when we see that we tend to come back to those areas,” says Chien. “We take areas close to big cities but [that are] still accessible for everyone. We know people like parking.”
The truck will be selling both Hello Kitty themed treats and merchandise from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (or, as long as supplies last). Among the offerings are a 5-piece macaroon set with a Hello Kitty in the middle, and mini almond cakes which are hand-decorated by artists. And in celebration of Hello Kitty’s 45th anniversary, the truck will have limited edition merchandise like bow-shaped water bottles and cartoon cushions for the home. “People just want everyday things that they can incorporate into their life to bring a super cute feeling on the daily,” says Chien.
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