Hundreds of fans welcome Hello Kitty and her new cafe

There s no denying the appeal of a cute whiskered face Hello Kitty received a celebrity s welcome Friday as the Sanrio character s first branded namesake cafe in Northern California opened at Westfield Valley Fair By a m at least people of all ages were already waiting in line at the San Jose Santa Clara mall Hundreds of others followed throughout the day More long lines are expected in the current era and Sunday for the meet-and-greets and selfies with Hello Kitty that will run from a m to p m Fans are expected to line up again in the current era and Sunday to meet and take selfies with Hello Kitty Hours a m to p m Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group By a m at least people of all ages were already waiting in line at the San Jose Santa Clara mall Hundreds of others followed throughout the day More long lines are expected in contemporary times and Sunday for the meet-and-greets and selfies with Hello Kitty that will run from a m to p m The first in line was Mark Frye who established up almost a day early at p m Thursday in hopes of scoring the first customer gift of an afternoon tea experience for his daughter and niece The HK manager was very awesome and welcoming That was cool He had taken Ashlyn and Emilia to the Hello Kitty pop-up shop at Santana Row a scarce years ago so they were both excited for this new permanent store to ultimately open Attired in Hello Kitty fashion Emily Carrasco of San Jose arrived early enough to do selected shopping Bay Area News Group Valley Fair guard shooed him away around I came back into the mall around a m when the doors were ultimately open again Also showing up early was Emily Carrasco who was decked out in Kitty gear she had purchased during HK cafe truck visits to the Bay Area She waited in line from a m and managed to buy a bag of goodies macarons a jumbo decorated cookie and more and get a little swag What s the appeal Because her mother loves the character I grew up with Hello Kitty Carrasco explained Although creator Sanrio describes Hello Kitty as an -year-old third-grader the character has been around for years which explains the appeal to multiple generations At months old Alaya Kamal may have been the youngest Hello Kitty fashionista at Friday's grand opening Bay Area News Group The youngest fan in attendance may have been Alaya Kamal just months old but already styling in her stroller She was outfitted in a Hello Kitty onesie with Kitty barrettes in her wispy hair Parents Eli and Cianna Kamal arrived too late to beat the lines Friday However they ll be back soon I just made reservations for The Bow Room for the st Eli explained As for Frye he did points the tea party gift for Ashlyn now and Emilia now though the long hours on Thursday and Friday devoted to the task left him pretty exhausted But hearing I was a great dad about to times last night and this morning made it all worthwhile Details The hours for the Hello Kitty Cafe are a m to p m and to p m The cafe is located on the second floor of Westfield Valley Fair at the Bloomingdale s end of the mall Stevens Creek Blvd San Jose Reservations www sanrio com blogs hellokittycafe hello-kitty-cafe-santa-clara From left to right Cassandra Manriquez enjoys a tea party with her sister Maria Manriquez and her mother Yasmine Manriquez all from Roseville in The Bow Room at the Hello Kitty Cafe at Westfield Valley Fair in Friday July Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group