After years of dreaming, months of planning and weeks of construction, the entrepreneurs behind The Cereal Bowl - an upstart café that hopes to woo the masses with more than 30 varieties of breakfast cereal - decided to keep their doors shut just a few more days.
``We have put so much work into the store that we don't want to rush it,'' said co-founder and President Kenneth Rader. ``If people think we're a little bit behind, then we're a little behind, but when we open we want to knock everybody's socks off.''
The grand opening, originally scheduled for last Saturday, has been pushed back into early February to give the newly-hired staff a few more days of training, he said.
Since October The Miami Herald has been following the trio - twin brothers Kenneth and Josh Rader, 24, and their childhood friend Michael Glassman, 25 - as they've turned their business plans into a brick-and-mortar café at 1560 S. Dixie Hwy.
But there have been hiccups. While they expected construction to be finished in 10 weeks - it has taken about 14. The cost of remodeling the space - originally budgeted at between $106,000 and $108,000 - has run about 10 percent over. However, the trio says they are still within their overall startup budget of $180,000.
While many startups face similar issues, most don't have their problems dissected in the local paper, so shifting the opening didn't come lightly.
``We are under some pressure to open so we aren't happy to push it back,'' said Josh. ``But to open with a staff that's not ready would have been a huge mistake.''
But with the walls painted, the counters installed and sofas delivered, the building only awaits a few finishing touches. Early this week The Cereal Bowl should be receiving the certificate of occupancy and health inspection certificate that's required for its occupational license.
Family and friends are anxious for the opening - but so is an organization headquartered in the Windy City.
Cereality, a Chicago company that opened its first cereal bar in 2003, said it's been keeping tabs on the trio's progress.
``We are eagerly awaiting the opening of The Cereal Bowl to see how they executed their notion of a cereal bar,'' said company CEO and Co-founder David Roth.
With locations in Chicago, Philadelphia and Tempe, Ariz., Cereality has embarked on an aggressive expansion plan that includes South Florida.
On Jan. 11 - just five days before Josh Rader was to be married - Cereality announced that it was inaugurating a ``distance catering'' service, which it touted in a press release as a solution ``whether you are down the street here in Chicago or planning a wedding in Miami.''
The Cereal Bowl trio, who also plan to cater to local businesses, said the announcement was almost flattering.
``Not everybody's wedding makes it into a press release,'' said Kenneth.
Cereality denied it was a dig at the entrepreneurs, rather Roth said it was an example of the ``breadth and reach'' of demand for the Cereality experience.
And catering may be just the start. In October, Cereality announced it was switching from company-owned and operated stores to a more aggressive franchising model.
According to Roth, Cereality has had more than 6,000 inquiries about its franchising program including 110 from ``qualified'' Florida entrepreneurs. If all goes well, Cereality could have its first South Florida location ``within the year,'' he said.
Franchising, as it turns out, is also part of The Cereal Bowl's plans and the company has lawyers drawing up the legal documents.
Roth denied Cereality's plans have anything to do with competitors. (There are also cereal bars in Gainesville and Iowa.) Rather, he said, it's a sign of the growing consumer demand for the company's presence.
``[Our stores] will clearly be everywhere,'' he said, ``not only in the United States but also overseas.''
As for the Cereal Bowl, Roth said he simply hopes the trio are living the entrepreneurial dream and creating something new.
``We've looked at the competition out there and the startups and we've said, `Good luck doing this; it's not easy,' '' explained Roth. ``And make sure that when you do it, you come up with something as novel as we did. Not something like we did.''
