I attended the Hello Kitty Café Pop-Up in Milwaukee recently! This was the 1st time it came to Milwaukee (or at least a far as I know). I’ve always tried going to the Chicago Pop-Up but things always get muddled the day of.
This time however, I made sure I could make it and I did. I arrived about 10 minutes before the truck officially opened and the line was already very long. I would say at least 50 – 70 people were in line before me when I got in line.
The menu was placed in 3 spots: half way through the line, right before you order and on the side of the truck. Someone was nice enough to post the menu on the Facebook event as well because surprisingly the Hello Kitty Café staff never did. Something to keep in mind is that this is Hello Kitty and it’s a pop-up; prices to these kinds of events can be higher than a regular store.
The wait wasn’t too bad; I expected to be there 2 hours but it only took 1. I was excited to blow my money on this! I nearly caved and bought the $25 plushie they had (not on the menu). The collector in me said “Get it! You know you want it!” but I stopped myself.
iced cookies, pies, macarons, petite four cakes, lunch box with popcorn & bottled water.
I don’t care much for physical items; I’m more than happy to spend money on food so I only got the snacks. It all worked out in my favor though because if you spent $25 on food, you received a free tote bag. I spent over $75 on food alone so I got 3 tote bags. All the totes were the same design, I gave one to a friend who went to the pop-up.
Since I don’t care much for mugs and things alike, I asked a friend to take photos of the things she bought from the truck. Above you can see the mug and keychain she got.
customer service
It was great! The waiting wasn’t awful like other events I’ve gone to (concerts, festivals, etc). The Hello Kitty Café staff were friendly and worked quickly. When purchasing the mug, they had customers inspect the mug for defects. Their uniforms were very cute as well!
Only thing I would critic….there was a woman taking care of the line, making sure people were moving forward. She looked angry and continuously told people to move forward. Several people complained to her about it, particularly when there was no space to move forward to. I’m not sure if she was part of Hello Kitty Café staff but she made things a bit unpleasant.
price
Personally I found items to be rather expensive especially since you could find other Hello Kitty items for less elsewhere. HOWEVER, it is a pop-up and if you’re only going once or you’re a collector, prices are worthwhile. There are somethings you’ll be more willing to buy over others, depending on your preferences and budget!
Quality at first glance
Products look very high quality. The desserts look well made as well. The colors popped on both the products and snacks. I was very happy with my purchase.
Atmosphere
Aside for that lady working on the line, everything was good even with the gloomy chilly weather. Despite the pop-up location being right outside of Mayfair Mall, it wasn’t too crowded or busy. The mall crowd had plenty of space to walk around the Hello Kitty fanatics.
Would I go again? Maybe!
Honestly, like I said above, I got what I wanted. The only way I can see myself going again is if they have new items.
I felt that the name Hello Kitty Café was a bit misleading; I was expecting a “café” menu with Hello Kitty themed parfaits, coffee, drinks, waffles and ice cream. I knew it probably wasn’t going to be like an actual café as I imagined so I wasn’t disappointed. The desserts sold were actually real cute!
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