It's Hurricane season and the three entrepreneurs behind the Cereal Bowl couldn't be happier. After weeks of ho-hum summer sales, traffic at their restaurant spiked last week as returning University of Miami students - some decked in 'Cane gear - started swarming the place.

``On Saturday and Sunday from about 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. you couldn't get in the door,'' said Cereal Bowl Vice President Michael Glassman. He had to call in reinforcements for his three workers and did his best to keep the line moving at the restaurant located at 1560 S. Dixie Hgwy.

``We're definitely bumping up to four [employees] but may have to go to five,'' he said.

The Cereal Bowl is an upstart café that hopes to make a killing by offering customers the chance to mix and match more than 30 kinds of breakfast cereal and 40 different toppings.

The Miami Herald has been following the venture and the three entrepreneurs behind it - Glassman and twin brothers, Josh and Kenneth Rader, all 25 - since October when they were struggling to get construction permits and watching their plans for a grand opening get battered by 'canes of the weather variety.

We'll keep up with them for the next two months as they pursue their dream of turning the Bowl into a concept that can be franchised - and eventually compete nationally against industry leader Chicago-based Cereality.

The Bowl boys got a huge boost toward that goal last month when CNN ran a feature on them that was beamed around the world and their e-mail flooded with franchise requests.

But despite the good press and the marketing buzz, they are still shy of turning a profit.

``We're just inches away,'' said Kenneth. If the company excluded loan payments and the amount it forks over for leased equipment, it would be turning a profit, he said. ``We will definitely be there by the end of the year.''

'CANE FEST

In the meantime, the partners have been working inside and outside the store to pull in cash.

On the marketing front, The Cereal Bowl was chosen as one of seven restaurants to give out free samples at the annual 'Cane Fest, which the University of Miami holds for incoming freshman.

Within three hours the company handed out hundreds of free samples of their signature cereal blend (Golden Grahams, Coco Puffs, marshmallows and homemade graham bits), hundreds of cups of coffee and about 2,000 fliers.

``We left there with nothing,'' said Glassman. ``But that's the point.''

MONEY MENU

Seven months after holding their grand opening, they are still tweaking the inside of the 1,700-foot store. From the beginning they knew their menu board was problematic. Stretching across the entire length of the counter, the lettering was small and the layout was confusing.

``There's nothing to promote sales like a menu board you can't read,'' joked Kenneth. With the help of their marketing company, Kaboo-Kaboo, they designed and printed a new one for about $3,000. The new menu is arranged in a step-by-step process and is much more intuitive. It also includes cereal and drink combos that make it easier and

faster for clients to surf through the sea of choices.

It was a simple tweak, but one that boosted the average ticket sale by about 75 cents from one day to the next, said Kenneth.

PROMOTION

Readers may recall that Carlos O'Brien, the Cereal Bowl morning manager, was given the honorary title of ``branch manager'' last month after he accidentally skewered himself with a tree branch in a tumble off his bike. Now he may get that title for real.

As the three partners behind the Bowl have pursued talks with lawyers about franchising, they realized they'd need more help - and that O'Brien was their man.

``He's one of the hardest workers I've ever met,'' said Kenneth. ``He's been with us since the beginning and he belongs with us as we grow.''

O'Brien will be a part of the franchising team and likely be managing the first new store to open, they said.

BIG SURPRISE

O'Brien said he was flattered by the offer and never really expected the Cereal Bowl to be anything other than a part-time job.

``Things are happening so fast, and when they asked me if I was interested, I said, `100 percent, whatever you guys need,' '' said O'Brien, who is making his first foray into the food-service business.

He said he was attracted to the company because the three owners seemed down to earth and interested in creating a sense of community - hosting live concerts and participating in neighborhood events.

``I grew up in Illinois and we had that community feeling,'' he said. ``That's something you can kind of miss here. . . . Now I feel like I'm a part of Miami.''

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