Official One Piece Restaurant Launches In United States
While restaurants themed around popular anime are fairly common in Japan, they rarely make their way to the United States, but that is changing. In Las Vegas, an official One Piece restaurant is about to open. It’s the first officially sanctioned, permanent restaurant based on an anime franchise in the United States, and it could be the start of a new trend.
One Piece Is Conquering The World
One Piece is one of the most popular anime in the world, so, naturally, it should be the franchise expanding into new American sectors. Originating as a manga in 1997, the franchise has ballooned to include an anime, 14 animated movies, a live-action adaptation on Netflix, numerous video games, and lots of merch. A Las Vegas restaurant is the latest example of the franchise’s dominance.
Themed Menu Items
The One Piece restaurant’s menu and decoration will be themed around the anime’s characters and settings. Menu items include Zoro’s Onigiri, Taijo’s Beef Curry, Mighty Meats Pirate Platter, Japanese Fruit Sondo, Big Mom’s Wedding Cake, Gum-Gum Fruit Mousse Bomb, Pumpkin Juice, Mikan Tangarine Slushy, and Franky’s Coke-a-Cola Ice Cream Float. The decoration will also feature characters like Luffey and Nami in addition to the more general pirate theme.
Food isn’t the only draw of the One Piece restaurant, which will also function as a merch shop. Some of the merchandise will be exclusive to the restaurant, making it a shopping destination for anime fans as much as a place to grab themed meals. The merchandise will include T-shirts, sweaters, hats, and more.
This Could Be The Start Of A New Trend
The One Piece restaurant comes from restauranteur Andy Nguyen working directly with Toei. Nguyen has established multiple restaurants but this collaboration marks the first of its kind, bringing his culinary flair to a popular anime franchise. If this location succeeds it could result in more locations like it through Nguyen and other restauranteur’s looking to capitalize on the growing popularity of anime in the United States.
Themed Restaurants Are Common In Japan
Locations like the One Piece restaurant are commonplace in Japan, where popular anime and video game franchises frequently have dedicated restaurants that double as merch shops. Nintendo’s multi-media giant, Pokémon, has a dedicated cafe, which sells merch and baked goods based on its popular monsters. Kamen Rider also has a diner, where fans can eat themed meals and buy merch for the long-running television show.
Head To Vegas For The One-Of-A-Kind Dining Experience
While the One Piece restaurant is the first dedicated anime-themed restaurant in the United States, it’s part of a trend of IP-based eateries at tourist locations like Las Vegas. Theme parks have long had specific menus, but newer attractions like Super Nintendo World’s Toadstool Cafe have made these restaurants more heavily themed. Seeing these IP-focused restaurants opening outside of dedicated theme parks shows that the trend could become a more widespread strategy.
The One Piece restaurant opens on May 11, with a grand opening event. This grand opening will include costumed actors playing characters like Zoro and Luffey and giveaways. Fans of the hit anime can soon make their way to Las Vegas to experience the unique culinary experience.
