The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck is rolling back to Edison Saturday
A pastel pink truck that is coming to the Menlo Park Mall will be impossible to miss.
On its annual tour of the country, the Hello Kitty Café Truck will be parked from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at the grassy area near Macy's.
Fans can buy merchandise and packaged snacks. What's new this year? A glass mug decorated with cartoon versions of the namesake Irvine, Calif. café’s desserts, filled with rainbow sprinkles, according to truck co-owner Urania Chien.
Other new items include a lunchbox, tote bag and T-shirt. Fans can still buy the hand-decorated cookie sets, enamel pin sets, plush toys, giant cookies and rainbow thermoses.
Items range from $12 to $44 (only credit and debit cards are accepted).
If you're planning to go, be prepared to wait. Lines have been as long as five hours. “Super fans,” Chien said, sometimes arrive two or three hours before the truck’s arrival. Crowds often range from 250 to 400 people, and items (especially food products) sometimes sell out.
During COVID-19, the effect was tenfold. The truck resumed its 2020 tour in July, when it headed to Texas. People lined up in their cars, and when it was their turn, they walked up to a table situated six feet from the truck. They ordered their items, and staff would put them on a stick and pass them to customers.
“I think people just really craved being outside of their house,” Chien said. “Because the concept is outdoors, there was a lot of popularity. Especially during the pandemic, people just wanted things to find joy in."
“People could buy the items from a reseller if they wanted to, but they want to be there with the truck and hang out with other fans,” Chien added. “A lot of them become Instagram friends afterwards. It’s very communal – fans bring things like coffee and doughnuts for each other.”
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Expect to see kids, parents and grandparents at the truck.
“We have enough that there’s something for everybody, and that’s why our fan base is so varied,” she said. “Little girls will get a plush, moms will buy a tote bag, and even grandparents are like, ‘Can we get the thermal bottle for our tea?’ "
Perhaps the most ardent fans are the ones who grew up with the character, just as Chien did. Calling herself a super fan, she remembers searching for rare Sanrio stores and finding a Hello Kitty item.
“It would be so precious to you," she said. "That’s why I think the merchandise speaks to the fans so much. The merch brings them back to their childhood and surrounds them in that joy.”
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Sanrio, a Japanese company that makes stationery, school supplies, gifts and accessories, launched Hello Kitty in 1975. The character has maintained a cult following throughout the last half-century.
After noticing there were many Hello Kitty-themed cafes in Asia but none in the United States, Chien and her partners decided to open one in Irvine, Calif. To promote it, the co-owners created a truck to be showcased at the 2014 Hello Kitty Con.
They soon realized the truck was much more than a marketing tool.
“It became such a fan gathering point and joy-maker that we got two, and now they just go to different cities every weekend across the United States,” Chien said. “We didn’t know it would be its own unicorn, but it got so much traction that we were just like, ‘Let’s try it out and see what happens.’ "
Go: Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Menlo Park Mall in Edison at the grassy area near Macy's; 55 Parsonage Road, Edison. The truck's next stop will be Flushing, New York, on Saturday, May 14, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at The Shops at Skyview.
Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA Today Network New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. Contact: JIntersimone@Gannett.com or @JIntersimone.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck comes back to Edison NJ Saturday
