In the three months since The Cereal Bowl opened near the University of Miami, the upstart café that specializes in dishing out a dizzying variety of breakfast cereals has been getting the kind of press that small businesses dream about.
There was the live interview on the nationally syndicated Mancow Muller radio show, where the Chicago-based shock-jock (who has a reputation for savaging his guests) was unexpectedly encouraging; there was the surprise accolade in the Miami New Times as ``The Best Restaurant for Kids;'' and now Time Magazine is planning to feature the trio behind The Bowl in an upcoming article about the national cereal craze.
It's enough to make any entrepreneur feel successful. So Michael Glassman - one of the founders and the general manager of The Cereal Bowl - does his best to ignore the hype.
``We're no stars and we haven't made it - we're still a start-up business,'' he said one recent weekday. He sported dark rings under his eyes that testified to the long hours and seven-day workweeks he's been logging.
``It's great that we're getting a lot of press, but my job is to get up every morning and keep things moving forward,'' he said.
The Miami Herald has been adding to the media mess by following the three entrepreneurs - Glassman, 25, and twin brothers Josh and Kenneth Rader, 24 - since October, when they were first trying to get their idea off the ground. After fighting through construction delays and permitting tangles, they opened their doors at 1560 S Dixie Hwy. in February - three months behind schedule.
There's a lot riding on the store. The trio have staked more than $100,000 and their personal lives on the idea that customers will be willing to fork over $3.79 for the opportunity to combine two cereals and two toppings from a bewildering array of options including cookie dough, Gummi Bears and fresh fruit.
While alternatives such as salad and sandwiches are available, they play second fiddle in the cereal-themed store.
STRONG RESULTS
Now - with three full months under their belt - the gamble seems to be paying off.
During the first quarter The Cereal Bowl did about $92,000 in sales - 70 percent in cereal, oatmeal and other food, and the remainder in drinks.
Cereal sales have leveled off at about 175 bowls per weekday and upwards of 300 on weekends - although they've sold as many 450 in a single day.
Catering and birthday parties have also been unexpectedly good money makers during the first three months.
But - as the trio expected this early in the game - the venture has yet to see positive cash flow. In the beginning expenses were running about $34,000 a month, driven by non-recurring items such as legal fees, last-minute equipment purchases and extra staff. Since then, outlays have dropped to about $30,000.
Their single biggest expense is rent at the 1,700 square-foot store, which is strategically located between the University of Miami and Sunset Place. At about $7,000 a month, the rent is steep but worth it, said Josh Rader - the only one of the trio who has kept a full-time job outside The Bowl.
``Our store is larger than we need it to be but if we were somewhere else we might not get the exposure we needed to grow the business,'' he said one evening as he drove to the store from his job at an accounting firm. ``The space itself is a marketing tool.''
LOOKING AHEAD
The trio expects they'll eventually be able to bring costs down to just over $20,000 as they negotiate better deals with suppliers.
But it's going to take more than savings to turn the cash flow corner. And it's also going to take more revenue.
While they think cereal sales are close to topping out, they believe they can boost coffee sales by about 40 to 50 percent.
Last month they brought on Miami marketing firm Kaboo Kaboo to help them promote their joe to the commuting crowd - but decided they needed to look inward first.
``We have to fix our marketing inside the store before we start trying to market ourselves outside,'' Kenneth said.
They are starting by moving their Seattle's Best Coffee pots out from behind the counter into a self-serve station in the dining area. That way customers can pour their own coffee - similar to the way drinks are handled at many fast-food chains - and leave the staff more time to concentrate on specialty drinks such as cappuccinos and iced mochas.
MENU CONFUSION
Another problem is the menu board. Though extensive and stylish, customers find it hard to follow and employees find themselves spending lots of time talking customers through the process.
``Too many sales have to be generated by our staff,'' Kenneth said. The board will be revamped to draw customers down the counter step-by-step.
They're also bringing in a secret weapon for the summer - a frozen yogurt machine.
Glassman had been pushing the idea since the the beginning, but the Rader brothers were worried it wouldn't fit into their cereal theme. Glassman persisted and eventually found a machine capable of blending cereal with the yogurt. (Think Fruit Loop freezies. Glassman swears they're incredible).
According to Josh's calculations, the machine could add a few hundred dollars to the bottom line each month and give them a chance to woo an entirely new set of customers.
``In a group of five or six people there are always one or two that don't like cereal,'' he said. ``We have to recognize that.''
And all the articles in the world won't make some people want to eat cereal.
