Clearwater Beach Has New Crypto Themed Restaurant With “Dogedog” Hot Dogs

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Art hanging inside a new bistro on Clearwater Beach features rockets, bitcoin symbols, quotes from Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, and colorful illustrations from the dogecoin dog meme.

The unique decor has a purpose, said Ricardo Varona. It is meant to get customers talking about cryptocurrencies or digital money on a decentralized platform called blockchain, said Varona, owner of Crypto Street Restaurant.

The restaurant on the ground floor of the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel at 309 Coronado Drive opened earlier this month. It occupies a space once owned by Cousins ​​Maine Lobster.

The menu features named American and Hispanic dishes with a cryptographic twist: like “Crypto Cuban” sandwiches, “Dogedog” hot dogs, “To The MOOOONNN!” »Brownie sundaes and more.

Crypto Street Restaurant accepts all cryptocurrencies, Varona said, including “sh ** tcoins”.

He said he hoped this could be a place to dispel misconceptions and get more people interested in the currency trend. Since the restaurant opened, Varona said he has helped visitors set up accounts on Coinbase.

In his conversation with the Tampa Bay Times, Varona explained how he started the restaurant concept. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The exterior of Crypto Street restaurant in Clearwater Beach seen on Monday, December 27, 2021.

[ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]How did this idea for a cryptocurrency restaurant come about?

I have a 24 year old son and he told me about crypto years ago. I was totally on the other side, “No, you’re crazy. It is not worth anything. How wrong I was.

I watched it later and liked it. I wanted to start [a restaurant that accepted cryptocurrencies as payment, but] it was such a strange thing. I wanted a franchise. There was also a lot going on with the pandemic. Maintaining the profit margin was difficult and we know about supply chain issues and all that.

I kept thinking that I wanted to do something different, something new, and I kept thinking about crypto… I figured out what it would be like to do something new, broke them off. ties to the franchise and started working on Crypto Street.

So far the youngest adore it and keep coming back. Along with the older crowd there are a lot of people who have similar interests and stories to mine where their son or grandson taught them something. So that creates some pretty cool conversations.

Has there been any difficulty in getting consumers to adopt it? And how do you manage the transactions?

So far we have had a few transactions in crypto, although a lot of people are interested in using it. There are also people who have just sold it or who rather want to keep it for the long term. But many people understand that its use adds value.

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I have the option of accepting through a merchant account, but people prefer to do peer-to-peer. It’s secure as long as you know you are sending it to my address and without going through a bank.

The menu presented at Crypto Street Restaurant in Clearwater Beach on Monday, December 27, 2021.

[ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]The menu lists items such as “Dodgedog” hot dogs and also “Crypto Cuban” sandwiches. How did you come up with the menu and choose the names?

I was born in Puerto Rico with a lot of Cuban, Mexican and Spanish influence so I wanted to put a little more of myself into it. We are also in a hotel, so people who are on vacation are looking for burgers and food for the kids. I get produce locally in and around Clearwater for most of our meats, beef, burgers or chicken breasts. They don’t even sell frozen food, they only sell fresh produce.

Along with the names, I have used some of the well-known cryptos and the cryptos that I love as inspiration. There is a bitcoin banana split that is bigger than anything. One of our charcuterie boards is called what you call a person who only does bitcoin: Maximizers. Dogedogs have been quite popular. There is also a club sandwich called the blockchain club. People rarely tell us to make a club sandwich. Instead, customers say ‘I’m going to have a blockchain’. They just have fun with it and it’s pretty cool.

The interior of the Crypto Street restaurant in Clearwater Beach seen on Monday, December 27, 2021.

[ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]What’s the biggest difficulty for people to understand about cryptocurrencies?

There are a lot of haters. Reputable people who have a lot of followers, saying “No, that’s not good.” People tend to believe it, so I think that’s the challenge. It’s just misinformation.

How do you hope to overcome this?

To just get more information there. I’m not trying to sell you something – I mean, yes my food – but I want to show you how you can make money and learn something. Take a look at it and take your time. Because then you can see for yourself when they really explode, that they can be anything.

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