Bored Ape NFT Owners Launch ‘Bored & Hungry’ Pop-Up Restaurant

Curious punters queued around the block as the world’s first Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)-themed pop-up restaurant opened in Southern California, US, on the weekend.

In partnership with Houston rapper Bun B’s Trill Burgers and Belief Burgers, Bored & Hungry calls itself a “smash burger-themed concept” where customers can buy fast food using Ethereum or ApeCoin.

As the proud owner of BAYC #6184, which he bought for US$267,000 on March 1, food entrepreneur Andy Nguyen used his Ape’s IP to create the restaurant’s brand:

NFTs ‘More Than Just a JPEG’

“The goal is to give back to the growing Web3 community and open the doors to those who want to learn more about the NFT world,” Nguyen said. “Our job is to […] show people that you can create a brand/business out of this IP, taking away the stigma of, ‘It’s just a JPEG’.”

Filled with Bored Ape and Mutant Ape images (Nguyen now owns four Apes), Bored & Hungry is on busy 7th Street in Long Beach and will compete with several other fast-food franchises. The grand opening attracted people of various ages, colours and genders, all looking to experience what’s claimed to be the world’s first NFT restaurant (that title actually belongs to New York’s Flyfish Club, founded by Gary Vee).

The commotion also piqued the curiosity of several passersby, some of whom asked what it was about. One wag standing in line was quick to respond with the following soundbite:

Crypto, capitalism, and hamburgers – what could be more American than that?

Bored & Hungry customer

In December, Bored Ape creators Yuga Labs joined forces with Adidas to enter the metaverse, the sports apparel giant having bought its own BAYC NFT in a show of good faith. And what are we to make of last month’s decision by Yuga to acquire the commercial rights to two of the most popular NFT collections on the market, CryptoPunks and Meebits? Watch the NFT space to find out.