Tuesday, November 23, 2004
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
If doughnut eaters have doughnut shops close by, shouldn't there be cereal bars for people who crave the crunch?
They're on the way.
Cereality is a unique franchise food chain just beginning to develop. The stores, with kitchens patterned after Jerry Seinfeld's television show kitchen, offer 34 choices of cereal that can be custom-mixed. They have 34 topping choices and an assortment of milks, smoothies and cereal bars. You can get made-to-order oatmeal with finishing touches such as molasses sugar and banana. They also offer "Invent a Blend," which allows customers to mix a variety of grains.
The roll-out prototype has been open about a year at Arizona State University in Tempe. A second store opens in Philadelphia the end of this month. The company hopes to add 10 more by the end of next year. Besides campuses, airports, health centers and office buildings are in the target range.
David Roth, a co-founder, says the idea came to him during a meeting on Wall Street with a man who had Cocoa Puffs stored behind his desk. Then, outside he noticed a mother carrying a bag of cereal for her toddler. He concluded that people eat cereal any time of the day.
Two cups of cereal with topping cost $4. It is served in Chinese-food-style takeout boxes or in special bowls by "cerealogists" in pajama tops. According to Time magazine, the slogan is "95 percent of people like cereal; 57 percent like sex. We have cereal."