Australia’s first Hello Kitty café opens at Melbourne Central

In the coffee capital of Australia, finding a niche in the cafe business is easier said than done. However, the newly-opened Hello Kitty Cafe is a bold addition to Melbourne’s culinary scene, blending Japanese pop culture and art with food to deliver a whimsical dining experience.

On level one of Melbourne Central, Hello Kitty and Friends Cafe has found a permanent home, brightening up the heart of the CBD’s retail scene with its “funky”, vibrant facade.

The café is presented in collaboration with Australian retail legend, Susie Wong. With doors first swinging open May 9, Ms Wong described the opening as “overwhelming.”

“In our first week, we had a really good response,” she said, adding that “renovations had only been finished the day before, so it was a very quick turnaround.”

“We wanted something fun, family-friendly and playful. Something for people of all ages.”

The cafe includes four carefully designed spaces, inspired by the global phenomenon of Hello Kitty and four of her friends, including Cinnamoroll, Kuromi, and My Melody. Each section is unique in colour scheme, fitting each individual character’s aesthetic, but all contribute to a “retro” vibe.

Walls are adorned in artwork that reflects each character’s unique personality, with posters also being available for purchase. Designs were produced by Ballarat artist Travis Price, who took these Japanese characters, existing in a British universe, and added an element of the Australian.

“We asked who Hello Kitty, and her friends would be in Australia and he gave these characters an Australian identity.”

The results were “cool, off the beaten track” characters; still distinctly Hello Kitty, but reimagined just enough to also be distinctly Australian.

Ms Wong went on to describe how themed cafes can provide a unique opportunity to connect with a customer base, providing an alternative dining experience from the many other cafes around Melbourne.

Melbourne is obviously the coffee capital of Australia, so standards for cafes are very high,” she said, adding that, despite this, themed licensed cafes were a rarity, with Hello Kitty and friends “potentially able to innovate within this scene.

Following the success of its predecessor, a pop-up Hello Kitty-themed cafe operating out of Chadstone last year, this theme was brought permanently to Melbourne Central, being the first permanent, Sanrio-inspired venue in the nation.

This success, for Ms Wong and for the patrons of this cafe, speaks to more than just the potential for themed cafes to provide a point of difference in a saturated market. By combining cute food and a whimsical setting, grounded in a sense of Australian identity, immersive – and most importantly, fun – dining experience is created.

For Ms Wong, seeing the joy of people exploring this cafe for the first time is what it is all about.

“People come in, and they look so happy. All ages, kids and adults, it’s great to see.”

Hello Kitty and Friends Cafe can be found on Level One of Melbourne Central, located close to the Latrobe St entrance, and is open every day from 10am to 8pm. •