Nostalgia and an opportunity to reimagine her childhood propelled Savannah Martinez to drive more than 300 miles from Arizona to Friday’s grand opening of the first Hello Kitty and Friends Cafe in Los Angeles, located at Universal CityWalk Hollywood. Adorned in kitten ears and matching white Hello Kitty platform boots, 24-year-old Martinez arrived at 2 a.m.
to be the first person in line. She and her three friends — equally adorned in pastel pink and some in permanent Sanrio tattoos — vibrated with excitement before the cafe opened at 11 a.m.
They were the first to order at an outdoor counter, with at least 100 people queued behind them. Sporting pink hair, Martinez’s friend Vanessa Gonzalez, 26, explained why she braved the sweltering heat. “We’re all healing our inner child,” she said.
“I loved Hello Kitty, but when we were kids we couldn’t afford it. So now that we’re adults we spend our money on Hello Kitty. .
.. I can’t help myself and I can afford it.
” Gonzalez still thinks of the Hello Kitty television she couldn’t afford to buy when she was a young kid. Nevis Aguillon, a 36-year-old who lives in downtown Los Angeles, nodded her head in agreement. “Hello Kitty is too expensive for children,” she said.
Festooned with a giant signature Hello Kitty pink bow and framed with a pastel pink and white striped awning, the outdoor cafe offered a grab-and-go menu of desserts and sweet drinks. Hello Kitty Cafe also currently operates outposts in Irvine.
