Get ready for cuteness: The Hello Kitty Café Truck hits SW FL this weekend

Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press
·2 min read
The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck will be Gulf Coast Town Center this Saturday.
The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck will be Gulf Coast Town Center this Saturday.

Hello Kitty is rolling into Southwest Florida. And the popular cartoon "cat" is bringing along cookies, lunchboxes, T-shirts and other cute collectibles.

The Hello Kitty Café Truck's 2023 East Coast U.S. tour wraps up Saturday at Gulf Coast Town Center, according to a Hello Kitty publicist. The popular tour will resume in 2024.

What can you buy from the Hello Kitty Café Truck?

A Hello Kitty Cafe lunchbox, one of the many limited edition collectibles available from the cafe truck.
A Hello Kitty Cafe lunchbox, one of the many limited edition collectibles available from the cafe truck.

The café on wheels will offer many Hello Kitty-branded items for sale, including limited-edition collectibles. The "menu" includes:

  • Hand-decorated cookie sets

  • A newly released hoodie

  • A newly released T-shirt

  • A glass mug with a sprinkle handle

  • A canvas tote

  • A rainbow thermos (18 and 32 ounces)

  • And a lunchbox.

Prices range from $14 for an eight-piece madeleine set to $70 for a hoodie, according to the Sanrio website.

The Hello Kitty truck's visit to Gulf Coast Town Center

Visitors line up at the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck
Visitors line up at the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck

The pink truck will be parked near GameTime from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at Gulf Coast Town Center, 9903 Gulf Coast Main St., San Carlos Park.

No cash will be accepted. They only take debit or credit cards.

The truck has been touring the United States since 2014. Since then, the Hello Kitty Café Truck has visited more than 100 U.S. cities on both coasts, according to a Hello Kitty news release.

Hello Kitty is NOT a cat, Sanrio says

Hand-decorated cookies, sold in sets are sold exclusively at the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck's stops.
Hand-decorated cookies, sold in sets are sold exclusively at the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck's stops.

Hello Kitty is an iconic cartoon character created by Japanese entertainment company Sanrio. It appears on gifts, clothing, stationary and other merchandise.

Most people consider the character to be a cat, but Sanrio − despite the word "kitty" being in the character's name − says she's actually a British schoolgirl born in London.

"She lives with her parents and her twin sister Mimmy who is her best friend," the Sanrio website says. "Her hobbies include baking cookies and making new friends. As she always says, 'you can never have too many friends!'"

Learn more about the Hello Kitty truck at sanrio.com/blogs/hellokittycafe/hello-kitty-cafe-trucks.

— Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him at crunnells@gannett.com. Follow or message him on social media: Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), X (formerly Twitter) (@charlesrunnells), Threads (@crunnells1) and Instagram (@crunnells1).

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Hello Kitty Café Truck to visit Gulf Coast Town Center in Fort Myers