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-   -   How a weird "twist" on a bowl of cereal turned into a great business idea... (http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2023)

Dien Rice December 1, 2006 12:39 PM

How a weird "twist" on a bowl of cereal turned into a great business idea...
 
How do you eat cereal? Until last year, I always ate it a very boring way. I just had a bowl of Corn Flakes. Or I just had Cocoa Krispies / Coco Pops. Or I just had Cheerios.

Then, last year while traveling with my fiancee, we met someone who ate cereal differently. This new friend we met liked to mix his cereals! I'd never heard of such a thing!

There's a cereal in Australia called "Nutri-Grain". Nutri-Grain has lots of vitamins in it but is quite "light". So our friend liked to mix it with something with more "oomph" to fill him up.

Anyway, since discovering he liked to mix cereals, I started doing it too. I quite enjoy a nice mix of Mini-Wheats with some corn flakes. (I tend to mix a sweetened cereal with an unsweetened one.) Sometimes I even mix 3 cereals!

I must say, mixing cereals makes breakfast a more exciting meal (if you like to eat cereal for brekky).

Which leads me to this next interesting business idea...

Three guys in Miami wanted to start a restaurant. But how could they start a restaurant which would stand out from the crowd?

Then they hit upon the idea... Why not...

A cereal restaurant!

That's right. Their restaurant serves cereal! (It's called the "Cereal Bowl".)

The great thing is - at their restaurant - you can mix cereals! So you can have a bit of this and a bit of that. You can have a lot of variety in your cereal "mix"!

And the business seems to be taking off! (They started making a profit 9 months after they started, and seem to be doing well now...)

You can read more about it here...
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...y/15869184.htm

This just shows... Unusual businesses can (and do) exist. And sometimes, they can even succeed!

Cheers :)

Dien Rice

Lawrence December 1, 2006 01:18 PM

Re: How a weird "twist" on a bowl of cereal turned into a great business idea...
 
Hi Dien,

Theme restaurants have come and gone. They can be fun.

I used to go to the "Stew-Kettle" where you could get a variety of homemade stews served in a personal-size stew kettle. The Prime Rib stew had two big meaty ribs sticking way out of the kettle - really good stuff.

The "Omelete Pan" specialized in... well..omeletes. Also very good.

Since I've owned and operated two restaurants "way back when", I think I'll marry a woman instead of a restaurant busininess, since that's what you do when you go into the restaurant business.

But, that's great if you really enjoy it. I did at first, then grew to feel shackled by all the responsibility, long hours and unreliable help.

Anyway, theme restaurants can be fun and are for me now that I'm on the other side of them.

Lawrence

Dien Rice December 1, 2006 07:16 PM

Re: How a weird "twist" on a bowl of cereal turned into a great business idea...
 
Hi Lawrence!

Thanks for your post...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lawrence (Post 6936)
Since I've owned and operated two restaurants "way back when", I think I'll marry a woman instead of a restaurant busininess, since that's what you do when you go into the restaurant business.


I agree with what you said here (from what I know)! I know someone who runs a computer business. In an earlier time, he and his wife ran a Malaysian restaurant. He told me once that running a restaurant is something you do for the love of it - because you're not going to make much money!

Also, opening a restaurant must be one of the most competitive businesses there is...

Will "The Cereal Bowl" last? I don't know. I noticed they're trying to franchise the concept... (You can see their web site here - http://www.thecerealbowl.com .)

Some "theme" restaurants do last the distance. There's a restaurant chain here in Australia called "The Pancake Parlour". I think they probably originally got the idea from IHOP ("International House of Pancakes"). However, comparing menus from IHOP http://www.ihop.com/food.html and the Pancake Parlour http://www.pancakeparlour.com/Menu/menu.html , the Pancake Parlour menu seems much more "pancake heavy"!

I just ate at one of their restaurants a couple weeks ago - and it was delicious! I think every single dish comes with pancakes. I've even had scotch fillet steak there - served on top of a pancake! (It was great - I'd go back for more!)

Well, there's one exception I think to this rule - the salads! They're not served on pancakes... thank goodness! (Can you imagine a salad served on a wet, soggy pancake? I wonder if they tried it then changed their mind? :) )

Anyway, that's one "unusual" restaurant idea I would have thought was "crazy" if I didn't see the big success it is for myself!

My goal was to show that "unusual" businesses can and do exist... Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't (like with all businesses). But they certainly are fun to read about! :)

Cheers,

Dien

Bill December 1, 2006 08:07 PM

Re: How a weird "twist" on a bowl of cereal turned into a great business idea...
 
There's a place here in Chciago (they have other cities too) that has a pajama clad crew that serves up the cereal:

http://www.cereality.com

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/s...,7160637.story

Dien Rice December 1, 2006 11:20 PM

Thanks Bill...
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill (Post 6946)
There's a place here in Chciago (they have other cities too) that has a pajama clad crew that serves up the cereal:

http://www.cereality.com

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/s...,7160637.story


Hi Bill,

Thanks for sharing that! It's interesting to see that someone else is doing it too!

I wasn't sure how it would translate to cold weather - but clearly it works there too! (I personally don't eat much cereal in the winter, but usually only in warmer weather... So it's interesting to me to see it work not only in Miami but in Chicago too!) :)

Cheers,

Dien

MMacGillivray December 2, 2006 04:33 AM

Re: Thanks Bill...
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dien Rice (Post 6953)
I personally don't eat much cereal in the winter, but usually only in warmer weather...


What - NO porage for breakfast :confused: :eek:

It's the staple diet in our household over the winter months!

Sandy likes to add fruit - bananas, apples, pears, kiwis (ok, whatever fruit he can find!) to the top of his porage - as well as demerara sugar and, occasionally, some milk! YUCK!! I just like some sugar and milk!

Margaret

MichaelRoss December 3, 2006 02:32 PM

Am I the only one that noticed...
 
that Dien wrote "my fiancee" for the first time on this board?

So Dien... has a Date been set or are you Just Winging It?

Michael Ross

Dien Rice December 3, 2006 02:42 PM

Re: Am I the only one that noticed...
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelRoss (Post 6974)
that Dien wrote "my fiancee" for the first time on this board?

So Dien... has a Date been set or are you Just Winging It?

Hi Michael!

You're very perceptive! :)

We don't have a firm date yet... Hopefully next year some time!

Cheers :)

Dien

MMacGillivray December 3, 2006 06:59 PM

Best wishes, Dien!
 
... :) - happy for you both!

Margaret

ps - how are you gonna divorce yourself from the 'puter?? :D

M

Dien Rice December 3, 2006 10:16 PM

Re: Best wishes, Dien!
 
Hi Margaret!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMacGillivray (Post 6978)
... :) - happy for you both!

Thanks! :)

Quote:

ps - how are you gonna divorce yourself from the 'puter?? :D
Don't worry... she has her "persuasive" ways... (That I must admit, I don't object to!)

Cheers ;)

Dien


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