Peter Ackerman and Alex Biese, Asbury Park Press
Kevin Smith fans, your dreams are about to come true. Mooby’s, the fictional fast-food restaurant featured in several of the beloved director’s films is coming to St. Louis. The pop-up restaurant will run from April 21–May 5 at a location to be announced next week.
St. Louis is the eleventh stop on the Mooby’s nationwide tour. As event organizer Derek Berry explains, the Mooby’s pop-up was originally conceived as a one-time, 10-day event in Los Angeles to generate carryout business for restaurants struggling during the pandemic. The overwhelming success of the venture prompted Smith to turn the pop-up into a traveling phenomenon.
“We started this with Postmates on April 20 last year and couldn’t keep up with demand,” Berry says. “We sold out every day, and the response was so overwhelming that we figured this had some legs that would allow us to do actual pop-ups.”
Originally featured in Smith’s film Dogma, Mooby’s has gone on to appear in Clerks II and the Jay and Silent Bob movies. According to Berry, Smith had always wanted to bring to life the fictional restaurant and was prompted to do so this year as a way to support restaurants. To do so, he enlisted the help of Berry, as well as a chef who created versions of Mooby’s signature items, such as the triple burger called the “Cow Patty” and the famous “Hater Tots. Because Smith is vegan, he made sure that half of the menu accommodates a meatless diet, including a version of the “Cow Tipper,” which uses a plant-based meat alternative.
Berry describes the Mooby’s pop-up as an immersive experience that will take you into Kevin Smith’s movie world. The restaurant hosting the event will be completely themed as a Mooby’s and sell Mooby’s and other Smith-inspired merchandise in addition to the food. Patrons buy a ticket to the pop-up through a link that will be released next week; that ticket guarantees them a main course, side item, and 45-minute time slot inside the restaurant. The pop-up will also feature a collaboration between Mooby’s and a yet-to-be-named St. Louis brewery that will provide a signature beer for the event.
Anyone interested in attending the pop-up are encouraged to sign up on the Mooby’s website with their email addresses. Those who do will receive early notice of where the event will be held and will also be able to buy tickets before they go on sale to the general public. Tickets will be $30 per person.
Berry credits the fandom that surrounds Smith and his films with the success of the Mooby’s pop-ups, though he insists that even those unfamiliar with the director’s world will be impressed by the event.
“There is so little going on right now that this gives people a reason to get out of their house,” Berry says. “This is a chef-driven event, and people have been really happy with the food. Even those who aren’t Kevin Smith fans will enjoy it.”
Courtesy John Troxell
Left to right: Kevin Smith, Derek Berry, Jason Mewes
