Credit: NickelodeonMany TMNT fans view the original 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series as the backbone of the franchise, whose unwavering success over the past 39 years is owed to the hugely popular Saturday morning cartoon that was solely responsible for the “Turtle-mania” craze of the late ’80s through early ’90s.
The series’ friendly-faced, pizza-munching reptiles appeared everywhere, including toy shelves, lunchboxes, TV commercials, cereals, frozen pizzas, and even Disneyland’s MGM-Studios.
How TMNT ’87 Changed the Franchise Forever
While the TMNT franchise started out as a grungy graphic novel under Mirage Comics, it was the ’87 cartoon that launched the half-shell heroes into the mainstream. Since then, of course, the Turtles have been reimagined numerous times, not only in animated form but across all media, including theatrical movies, comics, video games, and even most recently in novelization form.
Now, 1987’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is officially back in a pretty bodacious way.
The Original TMNT Cartoon Returns in a New Form
Last year, Variety reported that Paramount was planning to launch “themed pizzerias opening in Santa Monica, Monterrey, Mexico and São Paulo” as part of a wider strategy to further push the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand, which includes a major toy licensing partnership with Mattel and upcoming movie projects including an untitled live-action reboot scheduled for 2028.
Now, one of those pizzerias has opened in Los Angeles, as shared by The Hollywood Reporter.
According to the report, restaurateur Andy Nguyen, who has previously opened concepts based on Hello Kitty and Sonic the Hedgehog, has spent more than a decade trying to fulfill his dream of opening a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-themed pizzeria.
After partnering under the new ownership at Paramount, the new TMNT pizzeria opened its doors on June 20 along Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade. “I finally got that green light,” he says.
Nguyen celebrated the launch with a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying:
“New York pizza. LA energy. And we’ve been pouring everything into this. The first-ever official TMNT Pizzeria opens in Santa Monica on June 20th at 11AM — We’ve put our best into every slice detail of this experience. The first 100 supporters through the door get a special gift “
New York pizza. LA energy. And we’ve been pouring everything into this.
The first-ever official TMNT Pizzeria opens in Santa Monica on June 20th at 11AM — We’ve put our best into every slice detail of this experience. The first 100 supporters through the door get a special gift pic.twitter.com/xlnmLOEXmQ
— Andy Nguyen (@AndyTheNguyen) June 11, 2026
Related: Universal Studios GB Could Host TMNT Themed Area Modeled Off 1987 CartoonÂ
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizzeria Los Angeles adopts into the vibrant, color-soaked aesthetic of the 1987 animated series. “I call it the ‘Millennial Turtles,'” Nguyen says. “Those original cartoons, the way they were drawn, there’s a sense of fun that just brings you happiness.”
In a statement, Josh Silverman, Paramount’s president of global products and experiences, describes the look of the ’87 cartoon as a “a keystone piece of creative” for the franchise, adding, “There’s a term we use: ‘new-stalgia.’ It’s new for kids but nostalgic for adults, often their parents.”
Paramount is planning to open two more TMNT pizzerias by the end of the year, in Monterrey, Mexico and São Paulo, which will also be fully themed with the original cartoon series in mind.
For more information about the new pizzeria in LA, there’s an official interactive website.
Are you a fan of the original 1987 Turtles cartoon? Let us know in the comments!
