A restaurant in Los Angeles that is a Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). non-fungible token (NFT) used as a trademark serves its purpose Last burgers and fries after two years in business. The franchise itself remains in the hands of crypto. Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) Hungry is taking over.
California hamburger restaurant owner buys nearly half a million dollars worth of NFTs for branding
Bored & Hungry opened its first location in Long Beach on April 11, 2022. At the time of opening there was a large queue on 7th Street in the coastal city of Long Beach, California in the USA.
Owner Andy Nguyen had purchased Bored Ape 6184 a month before opening for $268,000, along with three other Mutant Apes valued at $187,000. The NFT also became the restaurant’s logo and the remaining Apes purchased were integrated into the restaurant’s branding.
Bored & Hungry differentiated itself from other local burger restaurants by allowing customers to purchase their meals using Ethereum (ETH) and Apecoin (APE) in addition to traditional debit and credit cards.
“Bored & Hungry was not intended to be a long-term project” Nguyen said. “And it diverted our resources away from our other work. (…) The experiment took a much crazier turn than we ever expected.”
The NFT-themed restaurant focuses on Asia
Ultimately, the restaurant seemed to have a hard time expanding its customer base beyond crypto enthusiasts. While the original Bored & Hungry may be closed, Nguyen is optimistic about the brand’s future in America. He retains a share in the brand.
“The supportive BAYC and Web3 community has helped us lead the way in leveraging digital IP assets and creating a restaurant brand,” Nguyen said on Twitter on Monday. The brand’s global growth was very unexpected. “Bored & Hungry opened many doors and relationships for me.”
Nguyen noted that the Bored & Hungry brand now has four locations, including three in the Philippine capital of Manila and another in Seoul, South Korea. With a focus on Asia and the Middle East, Nguyen said Bored & Hungry pop-ups will soon appear in Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.
“The home base may be gone, but stay tuned because Bored & Hungry will soon announce their new home in the US!” Nguyen tweeted.
The value of Bored Apes NFTs has dropped significantly since 2022
Nguyen’s NFTs have not yet been sold, although the value has dropped significantly compared to the purchase price. The Bored Apes average around $50.00 and the Mutants around $8,500.