Within the last few years there has been a trend of cereal-themed eateries popping up in hipster communities, providing customers with sugar cereals and granola concoctions served either with milk, or in an ice cream or milkshake form. The unique dessert cereal idea appeals not only to children but attracts the Generation Xers and baby boomers that are nostalgic for bygone cereal brands. Lone locations that have proved to be popular include Cereal Twister in the Westfield Topanga & the Village in Canoga Park, Calif., and this year alone saw single location cereal-themed spots sprout up, such as Wanna Spoon Cereal Bar in Nashville, Tenn., that opened in July and Cerealism, expected to open in Sacramento, Calif., by this fall. But this cereal-themed craze is not just a mom-and-pop sensation, as there are rumblings of continued multistate expansion of the Cereal Killerz Kitchen, Day & Night Exotic Cereal Bar and Spilled Milk Ice Cream & Cereal Bar brands.
Cereal Killerz Kitchen, with four locations in Nevada and Arizona, began franchising its cereal/dessert concept last year, and expects to open two new locations in new states by late 2022/early 2023, with a unit each in Silver Spring, Md., and Salt Lake City. The brand will also continue to target Las Vegas for further growth and is rumored to also be courting new franchise sites in Orlando, Fla., Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Cincinnati. Its units are between 900 and 1,110 s.f., inline or end caps, in indoor malls and strip centers. The concept works well in family friendly metros and suburbs, as well as on college campuses, in airports and near millennial-heavy multifamily residences. Co-tenants can include food and service brands that attract 30- to 55-years-olds with children, such as Jimmy John’s or uBreakiFix. Car related co-tenants that demand wait times, such as Goodyear Tires, are also ideal, as the brand hopes to attract those customers. Locations near hotels, such as Hampton Inn & Suites, are also desired. Cereal Killerz serves 140 different types of cereal in various forms, including mixed in with shakes and sundaes.
The Day & Night Exotic Cereal Bar (also referred to as the Day & Night Cereal Bar) is now in franchise mode and will be opening its ninth and tenth units before the end of this year, in a kiosk unit at the Glendale Galleria indoor mall in Glendale, Calif., and in the Atlantic Station mixed-use development in Atlanta. In August, Day & Night opened its first location in the state of Ohio, with a ground-floor unit in an office building in Cleveland. The Ohio location expects to also serve alcohol, which will attract age 21+ students from the nearby Cleveland State University in the evenings, while also being a go-to spot for families during the day. Additional growth is expected throughout the Atlanta region, Los Angeles and in the metros of Ohio and the Carolinas. Ideal space should be between 900 and 1,400 s.f., inline or end cap, in high-traffic outlet malls, urban street-front sites, strip centers and grocery-anchored centers. Co-tenants should be other lively restaurant brands, such as Angry Crab Shack, or daily errand spots, such as The UPS Store or Walgreens.
The Day & Night Cereal Bar serves customizable shakes or bowls that feature childhood favorite cereal brands such as Lucky Charms or Cocoa Puffs, in addition to toppings such as sprinkles, bacon or gummy bears.
In May, Spilled Milk Ice Cream & Cereal Bar brand opened its third unit in St. George, Utah, after opening its first brick-and-mortar space in Salt Lake City in December of 2019. The brand will open three more locations by late 2022/early 2023 in the state, with units coming to Lehi, Draper and Daybreak. Thanks to an investment from Business Ventures Corp. earlier this year, Spilled Milk is also setting its sights on opening units in other Western states by mid- to late 2023/early 2024, eyeing potential spaces in Nevada, Colorado, Idaho and Arizona. The brand looks for inline or end cap space in the 1,300- to 1,800-s.f. range, ideally with a patio at a busy intersection, in high-traffic retail areas, whether it be outparcels of a grocery-anchored space, power centers, strip malls or street-front retail. The minimum population should be 75,000 within a three-mile radius of a potential site. Co-tenants can include trendy brands that appeal to millennials and Gen Xers, such as Warby Parker, and child-centric brands, such as Kumon. Spilled Milk offers up milkshakes or ice cream cups served with cereal toppings.
