``If you and your wife came in and saw 100 critters running around, you'd probably say we'll come to The Cereal Bowl another day,'' explains Glassman. ``This way we keep them all in the back and it works very well.''

Glassman's crowd control and organization techniques have helped halve the time it takes from when an order is placed until when a customer sits down. Small things - like washing and chopping the fresh fruit toppings before the store opens or coaching the staff to recognize customers who become paralyzed by so many options - have helped speed the process.

STEADY INVENTORY

Also gone are the inventory shortages that cropped up in the early days.

``Mike has the store running so smoothly,'' said Josh. ``Very rarely do we have to make an emergency trip to Publix anymore.''

Glassman's procedures - from where the food is stored to how tasks are divided - are not only important for this store, but also will be a key component of the franchise manual they are starting to work on.

When The Miami Herald first interviewed the trio in October, they said they were wary of taking on new investors or partners, for fear of losing control of their vision.

But as they start seriously looking at franchising, the idea of bringing in an older and more experienced business partner, who might share a stake in the company, makes sense, said Josh.

POSITIVE PRESS

One factor that has The Cereal Bowl dreaming big so fast is the barrage of positive press they've received.

Last month the trio made the pages of Time Magazine in an article about how they - and their Chicago-based competitors Cereality - are spearheading a national cereal craze. Shortly afterward they received an interview request from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

And on Wednesday night - Josh and Kenneth's 25th birthday - The Cereal Bowl was featured on Anderson Cooper's 360 on CNN.

``Kenny was awake all night [on vacation] in Orlando watching a wave of e-mails come in that started on the East Coast and spread West,'' said Josh. ``It was a very nice birthday present.''

Within 18 hours, they received more than 75 franchise requests. And as this article went to press, more were coming in. ``We really want to capitalize on what we have right now,'' said Josh. ``What we don't want to do is sit on it and see it fade away.''

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@