New crypto-themed restaurant offers ‘bitcoinana split,’ ‘crypto cuban’ sandwiches, ‘dogedog’ hotdogs
- A crypto-themed restaurant offering customers offbeat-sounding food items opened in Florida this month.
- Customers can choose from a wide-ranging menu including “Crypto Cuban” sandwiches, “Dogedog” hotdogs, and a “Bitcoinana split.”
- The bistro’s owner said his 24-year-old son is the inspiration behind the restaurant’s concept.
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A new restaurant in Clearwater Beach, Florida wants more customers to partake in the crypto craze.
Crypto Street Restaurant, located in the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel at 309 Coronado Drive, opened to the public earlier in December.
The items on its menu, which are American and Hispanic staples, are tweaked to sound familiar to cryptocurrency enthuasists. “Crypto Cuban” sandwiches, “Nutty Protocol” salad, “DeFi Ceasar Salad,” “Shiba Shrimp Cocktail,” “Bitcoinana Split,” and “To The MOOOONNN” brownie sundae are some of its quirky-sounding options.
Its walls have art depicting bitcoin and ethereum symbols, a rocket headed to the moon, and quotes by dogecoin advocate Elon Musk, according to local media outlet Tampa Bay Times.
The restaurant accepts any type of cryptocurrency, including “shitcoins,” owner Ricardo Varona told the newspaper. Varona, who has helped visitors open accounts on crypto exchange Coinbase, said he hopes the bistro can be a place where common misconceptions about digital assets can be eliminated.
Varona’s son is behind the inspiration for his restaurant. The entrepreneur first ignored his 24-year-old son when he told him about cryptocurrencies years ago, saying he was crazy and “that’s not worth anything.” But during the pandemic, he wanted to start a restaurant that accepted crypto as payment.
“Maintaining the profit margin was hard and we know the supply chain issues and all that,” he told Tampa Bay Times.
He then left another venture in the food business to open Crypto Street. “So far the younger crowd loves it and come back,” he said. “With the older crowd, there’s a lot of people that have interest and similar stories to mine where their son or grandson taught them something. So it creates pretty cool conversations.”
Varona said the “dogedog” hotdogs are among the most popular, and customers don’t refer to the club sandwich by its dull name.
“People rarely tell us to make a club sandwich,” he said. “Instead customers say ‘I will get a blockchain.’ They’re just having fun with it and that’s pretty cool.”
