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When the Hello Kitty Cafe food truck opened shop at Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook on Saturday morning, the first person in line had already been waiting five hours.

No, it’s not quite the overnight crowds that set up camp for “Hamilton” tickets, but also consider that April Lee first drove nearly five hours from Lansing, Mich., with her husband and stepmother in tow, to claim that coveted first spot in line.

This was the first Chicago area visit from the California-based truck, which sells cakes, cookies and more themed around Hello Kitty, a Japanese cat character that has become a cross-cultural phenomenon.

When the windows to the truck opened Saturday morning, an estimated 2,000 superfans cheered, many wearing Hello Kitty clothing and colors. But by Saturday at 4:30 p.m., those who had waited five hours under the sun finally reached the windows only to be told everything was sold out, and to come back Sunday.

Some in line took to the truck’s Facebook page, which had listed hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for “supercute treats while they last,” to post their anger, disappointment and photos of crying children.

Early customers who reached the front of the line while the truck was still stocked all seemed to order at least one of everything on the limited menu: bow-shaped bottled water ($3), a three-piece cookie set ($12), a coffee mug ($13), a four-piece box of petit four cakes ($15), a five-piece box of macarons ($15), a T-shirt ($25) and an off-menu puffy pink bow headband ($30).

The truck’s next stop is in Boston, said driver Joey Wong, who has tasted everything on the menu. What’s his favorite? “The macarons,” he said. “Definitely the macarons.”

The Hello Kitty macarons did travel shockingly well. The tiny French sandwich cookies all had well-formed frilly feet, uncracked faces and beautifully balanced ganache and jam fillings, not too much or sweet.

But are they and the other desserts worth a whirlwind 15-hour round-trip, like the one April Lee made? For her, visiting the truck was about more than just getting sweet treats. “Hello Kitty and I go back to when I was 6 years old,” she said. “She reminds me that there are still good and innocent things in this world.”

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Perhaps case in point, one Facebook post did show one young girl who gave her pink Hello Kitty food truck tote bag with treats inside to another younger girl who had been crying when the truck sold out. Sweet, indeed.

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Twitter @louisachu

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