Last weekend on 9 April, the Bored Ape Yacht Club-themed restaurant had its grand opening. Situated in Long Beach, California, Bored & Hungry is the first restaurant to accept $APE cryptocurrency as payment.

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Spanning 1,700 square feet, the restaurant was devised by food entrepreneur Andy Nguyen, who is well-known for his exciting food concepts. Back in March, Nguyen spent USD$267,000 to purchase Bored Ape #6184 and two Mutant Apes to receive access to the IP ownership rights and community granted to holders of the NFT, as per Hypebeast.

Along with Kevin Seo and the Bored Ape community, Nguyen opened a pop-up restaurant based on Bored Ape #6184. Nguyen is also a co-founder of Afters Ice Cream, Matte Black Coffee, Pig Pen Delicacy, Portside Fish Co., Dough & Arrow, Banh Xeo Boys, and media company Happy Hours Group.

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For co-owner Nguyen, the goal is to give back to the growing Web 3.0 community and open doors to those who want to learn more about the new Web 3/NFT world. “Our job is to educate the public about this new future world. And show people that you can create a brand/business out of this IP. Taking away the stigma of, ‘It’s just a jpeg.’,” added Nguyen.

As expected, crowds were lining 7th Street with people from all walks of life. According to Decrypt, both Seo and Nguyen hope that the curiosity and enthusiasm surrounding NFTs can help the pop-up compete against franchises like McDonald’s that share the Street.

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The Bored & Hungry restaurant will be open for 90 days, in partnership with Houston rapper Bun B’s Trill Burgers and SoCal vegan fast-food concept Beleaf Burgers. Nguyen and his team will be offering free meals to Bored Ape Yacht Club holders and free burgers to Mutant Ape Yacht Club holders. Verification will be done via token gating.

Nguyen and his partner Seo will reportedly be launching the Food Fighters Universe (FFU) NFT collection this May, which will function as the world’s first NFT-backed restaurant group. The collection looks to employ Web3 in solving problems currently faced by the food and beverage industry.

Bored & Hungry
2405 E 7th Street,
Long Beach, California,
United States

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