East London burger vendor Burger Bear reports that 25% of its revenue is now settled in cryptocurrencies, having started accepting bitcoin in November.
According to Tom Reaney, Burger Bear’s founder, 60% of the cryptocurrency share taken by his pop-up burger stall is in bitcoin, while the rest is in dogecoin. And it’s the devotees of the Shiba Inu-inspired currency that have most surprised Reaney.
“We have people coming from all over the world to pay with DOGE,” Reaney said.
“We had a guy from Switzerland last week who told me he was in London on holiday and that he came to hunt me down to pay with DOGE.”
The dogecoin community appears to have embraced Burger Bear and its brand of extra-large beef patties slathered in its homemade ‘bacon jam’.
Charitable shibes
In February, the dogecoin community rallied to tip the vendor 200,000 units of the altcoin (worth about $254 at the time), so that he could provide free burgers to hungry Londoners.
Ok London…. The #DogeCoin community has spoken and Doge is buying you burgers! Get to @theoldnunshead NOW! Over D200k been tipped!
— Burger Bear (@burgerbeartom) February 8, 2014
Reaney said he’s been tipped 400,000 in dogecoin in total, which is enough to make a few hundred burgers at cost price.
“People send me dogecoin and they’re like, feed a person, feed someone who needs it. Just tell them that it was dogecoin that fed them. We’ve done a few events where we’ve just been sending burgers out to various people,” he said.
“Dogecoin is far more community focused [than bitcoin]. They kind of want to do things for the greater good.”
Boxy business
Reaney’s Burger Bear business is poised for expansion, having recently closed an oversubscribed Kickstarter campaign to build a diner out of shipping containers.
His BearHQ raised £36,576, beating its £30,000 goal, on 16th March. The diner will be located on Shoreditch High Street, in East London (close to London’s first bitcoin ATM), and will open its doors in July.
Reaney is also opening a Burger Bear restaurant in the same period on Stoke Newington High Street, a hip enclave also in East London.
CoinDesk initially reported on Burger Bear when it sold its first burger for bitcoin in November.