If you're like me, you find the process of pouring yourself a bowl of cereal and pouring milk on top of it to be an annoying, vexing and time-consuming process. If only, you think, someone would open a business where I could leave my house, pay an absurd sum of money, and have someone complete that task FOR me, my life would be so much better.
Well, the good Lord has answered your prayers. A place called "The Cereal Bowl" has opened in Cleveland Park. For $4, you can get a bowl of Cookie Crisp topped with, well, whatever one might put on top of Cookie Crisp, and delivered to you by an employee wearing pajamas.
Seriously, you ask? Seriously.
This might be the most idiotic concept I have seen since Pizza In A Cone. And at least Cone Pizza isn't something you could whip up in your own kitchen in 15 seconds.
That having been said, how long until Cereal Bar opens up somewhere in the Logan/U Street area? If they combine it with a "gourmet donut shop" concept, they might have a winner.
Friday, April 9, 2010
And You Thought $4 Cupcakes Were Ridiculous
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12 comments:
Those bowls look pretty small. "Small Plates" have become "Small Bowls."
I'm going to open a place where I charge people $3 for a cup of coffee.
Oh, oops. Nevermind.
I can buy and scoop ice cream at home, but I still on occasion visit Häagen-Dazs, Cold Stone, Ben & Jerry's or other ice cream spots.
I can make coffee at home, but still visit Starbucks, etc. on occasion.
I can make a smoothie at home, but still visit Robeks or others on occasion.
I can make a salad at home, but still visit Chop't now and than.
Just about anything 'can' be done at home, but businesses that specialize in X, Y, or Z still thrive. The Cereal Bowl has merely tapped another idea and approach, and brought their product to the market.
But what is the "Cereal Bowl" adding to the cereal equation? Starbucks, for instance, provides their own unique blends of coffee, and certain specialty drinks, that can't (easily) be replicated at home. Chop't offers a selection of ingredients that would be prohibitively expensive should I wish to purchase them all separately at the store. But when I'm at the grocery store, I can pick up a box of Wheaties and a carton of milk, and precisely replicate what I would be served at the Cereal Bowl.
Their "product" is simply re-selling a packaged good at a steep mark-up. I don't get it.
Have you visited?
It is not just going in for a bowl of Wheaties. Their product is more the idea of a Cold Stone for cereal. Mix and match, add toppings, fruit and etcetera. They offer numerous drinks and smoothes, as well as oatmeal and other items. It is more than a bowl of cereal. They are attempting the same tricks others used for coffee, ice-cream, salads, donuts, etc. They are playing with products on the market to bring forth something a bit different. This is exactly how other specialty shops work.
Starbucks did not begin with loads of specialty items, they evolved, and to this day continue to do so. I is the way of the market. I can make nearly everything they make at home, if i wanted to. I have the machines and supplies. Do I?, Not usually.
Will I visit the Cereal Bowl daily? No. Weekly? Not likely. On occasion? Sure, and for the same reason I go other places on occasion. It is easy, fun, and offers a product I may not want to make at home all the time.
Hmm, such as a combination of 4 cereals, strawberries, bananas, and who knows what else. My imagination is the limit. Could I go out and buy all those items to have everyday at the house? Of course. Am I going to, when all I might want is one bowl now and then? Probably not.
It's more than a single bowl of Wheaties.
Well, all I can say is, enjoy the cereal. I don't wish them ill, I just think it's a silly concept. And no, don't plan to visit. I'm happy pouring milk on my cereal at home.
Scott Nolan Smith is correct to point out the parallels with ice cream shops. I would have scoffed at the notion of an expensive pizza that I would have to bake on my own time, yet homemade pizza is in our hood, and I bet Mr. 14th gave it a positive review!
Mr. 14th appears to be an elitist.
Power to the people! Bring Pizza
In A Cone to Logan!
I must admit, I'm amused by the notion that scoffing at paying $4 for a bowl of cereal makes one an "elitist", but if that's the going definition these days...
As far as Homemade Pizza Co., well, do a little digging around the blog. You'll find my thoughts on that institution and their $18 pies.
I was intrigued by the concept of cone pizza, though.
TAKE BACK WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT THE CONE PIZZA!! TAKE IT BACK!!!
My ex partner thought about this concept several years ago. I thought it was stupid then as I do now. I also think my ex was stupid too but it took me longer to figure that out unfortunately.
Just found your site and I hate it. You're right that $4 for a bowl of cereal is ridiculous but clearly people are paying for it. The concept of selling cereal on demand or pizza cones is not ridiculous. I want as many food choices as possible with no one telling me what I can and can't eat.
I agree on with the cereal concept being absolutely ridiculous. That said, i really want a donut shop along the lines of Top Pot donuts in Seattle to open in our 'hood. It would fill a major donut niche - and be better yet if they offered bagels too.
I call dibs on a Capri-Sun bar.
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