LA’s first Hello Kitty Café opens at Universal CityWalk

The Hello Kitty and Friends Cafe – the first in Los Angeles – welcomes guests with a large pink Hello Kitty bow, and offers a host of Hello Kitty-themed snacks and beverages. Image: hellokittycafe/Instagram

UNIVERSAL CITY – A host of Hello Kitty enthusiasts were in cat heaven this week as doors opened at the Hello Kitty and Friends Cafe at Universal CityWalk, along with the adjoining Sanrio Smile Shop offering a wide array of merchandise from the animated character’s world.

The cafe — the first in Los Angeles — welcomes guests with a large pink Hello Kitty bow, and offers a host of Hello Kitty-themed snacks and beverages.

Guests can enjoy a unique, grab-and-go menu with the option to dine at any one of umbrella-covered tables located just outside the walk-up venue.

Image: hellokittycafe/Instagram

Among the offerings are a Hello Kitty Mousse Dome, which is a dome-shaped cake baked with cinnamon mousse, apple pie filling and cinnamon streusel.

There’s also a Hello Kitty-shaped sugar cookie, along with macarons, berry-stuffed churros and strawberry cake.

Beverage selections include a Hello Kitty strawberry green iced tea, Kuromi berry iced tea, Tuxedosam Lemonade, Keroppi Matcha Latte and Chococat frozen mocha.

But true fans will likely be more drawn to the Sanrio Smile Shop, offering themed merchandise ranging from backpacks to shirts, hats to T-shirts, mugs to keychains. There are also lanyards, phone cases, stuffed toys, pins and jewelry.

Image from Universal CityWalk website

The merchandise focuses on Hello Kitty, but also includes companions Keroppi, Kuromi, Cinnamoroll, Chococat and My Melody.

The shop also features a dynamic in-store photo op spotlighting Hello Kitty and the Sanrio characters, a perfect shareable moment for fans to enjoy.

The Hello Kitty character herself, who is marking her 50^th anniversary, and her friends will also make appearances in the store for photo opps, as well as greeting visitors at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. (With CNS report)