The first-ever official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizzeria opened on Wednesday, June 10 at 1444 Third Street Promenade for a limited soft opening, bringing the beloved franchise's sewer-dwelling heroes into the world of brick-and-mortar dining for the first time in the brand's history.
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| Photo credit: Santa Monica Daily Press |
The restaurant, located in the former home of Johnnie's New York Pizzeria, will operate in soft-opening mode through Sunday, June 14, then go dark for a few days before a formal ribbon cutting Saturday, June 20 at 11:00 a.m. Opening day will special character appearances and giveaways, as well as exclusive items for the first 100 customers to make a purchase.
Billed as an immersive dining experience, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizzeria: Los Angeles was created in collaboration with Paramount Products & Experiences and Lunchbox Group.
The concept is the work of Andy Nguyen, a serial entrepreneur with a track record in fan-focused, IP-licensed themed dining. Nguyen, who developed the One Piece Cafe in Little Tokyo in collaboration with Toei Animation as well as the Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe in Atlanta, has also brought concepts tied to Hello Kitty, Rick and Morty, Naruto, and other pop culture properties to life. He began publicly teasing the Santa Monica pizzeria in mid-2025, describing plans for a "classic New York-style cheesy slice straight to the West Coast — with a TMNT twist" that had been "years in the making."
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| Photo credit: Santa Monica Daily Press |
The restaurant, housed in a 3,000-square-foot space, promised a casual, family-friendly environment with themed decor and exclusive on-site merchandise which it has delivered to the struggling Promenade. The menu features classic pizzas and an assortment of keychains, t-shirts, pins and other items, plus interactive photo moments and themed cocktails for fans. Staff are wearing TMNT themed clothing with pizza chefs donning turtle themed aprons and floor staff dressed as foot clan ninjas.
The menu was developed with consultation from Brooklyn-based Angelo Womack, a veteran pizzaiolo who has worked with acclaimed pizzerias like Roberta’s, Oak & Rye, Glide, Mama’s Boy and Scarr’s.
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| Photo credit: Santa Monica Daily Press |
Unlike the Ninja Turtles themselves, who famously top their pies with everything from marshmallow and peanut butter to jellybeans, TMNT Pizzeria follows a more classic New York-style protocol.
Its pizza program includes a three-day dough fermentation process, natural American flours, hand-stretched mozzarella and California Stanislaus tomatoes. They even match their water’s pH level to that of New York City in an homage to the sewer-dwelling superheroes’ hometown.
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| Photo credit: Santa Monica Daily Press |
The interior features wall to wall TMNT decor, mainly inspired by the '80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series including the classic ooze and a variety of neon lights. A bar in the back will serve alcohol on weekends.
The Santa Monica location is one of three TMNT pizzerias announced globally by Paramount, with the others slated for Monterrey, Mexico, and São Paulo, Brazil. Paramount unveiled the pizzerias in February as part of a sweeping franchise expansion led by Josh Silverman, who was brought aboard last fall as president of global products and experiences after stints at Disney, Marvel, and Mattel. Silverman described the restaurants as part of a broader push to extend the Turtles brand across consumer products and location-based entertainment.
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| Photo credit: Santa Monica Daily Press |
The restaurant expansion is part of a larger franchise push that also includes a 30-episode preschool-targeted YouTube animated series, Teeny Mutant Ninja Turtles, a global master toy license awarded to Mattel beginning in 2027 — ending Playmates Toys' nearly four-decade hold on the brand — and an accelerated theatrical slate that includes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2, now scheduled for Aug. 13, 2027, and a live-action/CG hybrid film planned for 2028.
The Third Street Promenade opening marks something of a homecoming for the franchise in Santa Monica. Ahead of the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem in August 2023, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies staged a 10-day immersive pop-up experience on both coasts, with the Los Angeles installation drawing more than 16,900 visitors.
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| Photo credit: Santa Monica Daily Press |
That experience, produced by NVE, invited guests to explore themed environments modeled on the fictional underground world of the four turtle brothers — including training zones, a recreation of the Turtles' sewer lair, and an exclusive on-site merchandise shop. Across both the Los Angeles and New York installations, the pop-up drew more than 35,000 guests total.
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Originally published: June 13, 2026.
Sources: Santa Monica Daily Press, ResetEra, Los Angeles Magazine; Additional source: The New York Post.
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