If you were to choose two types of cereal and two separate toppings from The Cereal Bowl's dozens of selections, you could create 802,791 different combinations.
But at 10:16 a.m. on Feb 4 the cereal cafe's very first customer complicated the math by ordering two helpings of the same brand: Grape-Nuts - topped with bananas and blueberries. The Cereal Bowl - the start-up cafe that hopes to lure in customers with breakfast cereal and keep them there with coffee, cartoons and free wireless access - had its grand opening on an overcast Saturday morning.
``It's hard to believe it's here finally,'' said Kenneth Rader, the venture's co-founder and president, as he paced the store fretting over last-minute details, including an open-air fridge that was on the blink. ``We know it's not perfect yet - but nobody else knows that.''
Childhood friend and The Cereal Bowl Vice President Michael Glassman was equally harried as he went over last-minute instructions with the staff about voiding cash register transactions. ``I feel like I'm having a baby - I'm ready,'' he said.
By the time the day was over, more than 400 customers had filed past the counter and The Cereal Bowl was born.
The Miami Herald has been following the three entrepreneurs behind the start-up (twin brothers Josh and Kenneth Rader, 24, and Glassman, 25) since last October when The Bowl was little more than a 20-page business plan and their locale at 1560 S. Dixie Hwy. was a piano store.
FINALLY OPEN
Over the past five months, they have put more than $108,000 into remodeling and outfitting the 1,700 square-foot space, not to mention the grueling hours to get it off the ground. The process has been an education on how hurricanes, construction overruns and permitting tangles can throw off the best laid plans.
But Saturday's event was everything an entrepreneur could hope for: There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the mayor of South Miami and other city notables and business leaders; there were television cameras and pesky reporters; and there was an enthusiastic circle of friends and family.
But perhaps most importantly, there were customers - people who shared neither kinship nor friendship with the trio but were curious about what they were offering.
Louis Olivera, 40, a personal trainer, said he spotted the store a few days earlier and was intrigued by the possibilities it might offer his health-conscious clients.
``People don't understand how cool this is because there is such a different assortment,'' he said, as he waited to order a bowl of Cornflakes and Kashi topped with bananas and strawberries. ``It's quick. It's healthy.''
At a nearby table, Chad (``I'm seven and a half'') Raven was exploring the opposite end of the cereal spectrum - polishing off a combination of Cookie Crisp and Coco Puffs, smothered with Peanut M&Ms and Oreos.
``My mom would never let me get all these cereals at home,'' he explained before launching into speculation over whether or not Tony the Tiger truly qualified as a cartoon character. At about 10:36 a.m., as the crowds continued to gather, Josh Rader quietly headed for the exit. The only one of the trio with a full-time job outside the Cereal Bowl, he had to report to work at his accounting firm.
``It's tax and audit season,'' he explained, looking happy despite the bags around his eyes and the onset of a cold he had picked up after logging multiple 19-hour days getting ready for the opening. ``I made a commitment that my job is my job and I wouldn't let [The Cereal Bowl] interfere with it . . . But it looks great in there and Ken and Michael have everything under control.''
AFTER THE OPENING
It's Wednesday afternoon, four days later. The balloons are gone, the grand opening sign is down and only one of the 10 tables at the Cereal Bowl has customers. Glassman, who is also the general manager, has been waking up every morning at 3 a.m. to drive in from Kendall, pick up an employee at Dadeland Station and have the store ready for the 6 a.m. breakfast crowd.
Kenneth, who was working overtime during the construction and build-out phase, claims to be taking a half-day off but is at the store having cereal for lunch. Josh, they say, calls about every 45 minutes from his office to check in.
Despite the sluggish afternoon, the entrepreneurs are feeling optimistic. Their business plan estimated they would need about 250 sales a day at about $5 a pop to break even. The average sale has been running slightly higher than that and on Saturday alone they saw about 400 people. Traffic dropped to about half that on Monday but has improved every day since.
``A lot of people still don't realize we're open,'' said Glassman, who has been standing outside with signs trying to lure in rush-hour drivers. ``And a lot of people don't know that you can get a bowl of cereal and coffee to go. They think you have to eat it here.''
They're trying to tackle that perception by printing up 500 color fliers promoting the fact that their biodegradable bowls have lids that make them commuter friendly.
But they're also mulling ways to cover the client gap.
``We're trying to find out how to keep ourselves busy 15 hours of the day, not just five hours in the morning and the last three hours of the day,'' said Kenneth.
Once their open-air fridge has been repaired, they plan to offer sandwiches and salads. ``It would be an extra revenue stream and it fills a void,'' said Kenneth. ``It's easy to sell [cereal] in the morning or even for dessert, but for lunch and dinner . . . you have to be a hard-core cereal lover.''
They're also tinkering with the idea of hosting birthday parties and school field trips during slow hours of the day - when the risk of alienating college students would be at its lowest.
But for the moment the biggest priority is getting the message out that The Bowl is in business, said Kenneth.
``Because we moved the opening date back so many times, people still aren't sure if we're open,'' he said. ``The good thing is that people seem to be leaving much more pleased than when they walked in.''
