Cereality, a cereal bar and cafe, will open its doors to the Penn community at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow, introducing not only a new retail dining option for students, but also an entirely different restaurant genre to Philadelphia.
The new 1,500-square-foot cafe, which is located at 3631 Walnut St., is modeled to look like a typical kitchen, and its workers will be dressed in pajamas to provide a breakfast-feel.
The University and Cereality "found each other; we were looking for a new retail opportunity and they were looking for a space to open, and it looks like a terrific fit for both," Associate Vice President of Facilities Lisa Prasad said. "I think this concept will appeal very uniquely to students."
"I think it will probably succeed," College sophomore Noah Sugarman said. "I assume lots of students on campus like cereal."
The new cereal bar will feature three menu options for cereal, including "Your Cereal. Your Way." This option allows customers to choose from a multitude of brands, milk types and toppings to customize their cereal experience. "Your Cereal. Our Way" comprises specialty mixes designed by "cereologists" that incorporate both hot and cold cereals. Finally, "Your Cereal. A Whole New Way" includes new takes on cereal such as "Slurrealities," which are smoothies made from cereal, and "Cereality Bars."
"People can get two full eight-ounce cups of cereal with one topping and unlimited milk for $2.95," spokeswoman Lisa Kovitz said. "Nothing on the menu will be over $5."
In addition to offering a variety of cereal and drink options, the cafe will also feature seating for 40, a capacity that will increase in later months once outdoor seating becomes available, as well as free WiFi Internet access.
Yesterday, Cereality founders David Roth and Rick Bacher were featured on the Today show with Katie Couric, where some of their food varieties were sampled.
"They were very enthusiastic about the idea and supportive of it," Kovitz said.
Cereality founders are banking on the fact that because so many Americans eat cereal -- 95 percent, according to store publicity material -- the new cafe will be very successful.
It remains to be seen whether college students will pay for food that is readily available in grocery stores.
"After awhile, kids would tire of paying a lot for cereal when they can make it free," College sophomore Sam Donsky said.
Some students were not convinced Cereality was the best choice for the location.
"It's more intelligent to have a bar or music place" on campus, College junior Brenda Harkavy said.
The cafe will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week and will accept cash, debit cards and credit cards as methods of payment.
This is the second Cereality location to open after the Arizona State University store, which opened in the summer 2003.
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