Cereal restaurant making grand splash on campus

With its grand opening just a week ago, Penn's all-cereal restaurant has already become a popular spot on campus.

The new cereal bar and cafe Cereality -- located on Walnut Street across from the Annenberg Performing Arts Center -- has garnered attention nationwide for its goal to become the "Starbucks of cereal."

But despite the incredible publicity the store has received -- including air time on Good Morning America and CNN -- some students still think the location will fail once the store has been open for a while.

"I think the novelty of it is going to wear off," College senior Iram Ahmad said. "I don't think it's going to be appealing to freshmen because they can mix cereals in the dining halls."

In its quest for publicity, the store itself had Tony the Tiger and the Trix Rabbit mascots outside on opening day.

From its Froot Loops artwork to the milk-bottle light fixtures, the store is trying to create an atmosphere where people feel at home. To this end, the store even has a flat-screen TV in the corner, permanently set on the Cartoon Network.

"Cereal and cartoons just go together," Nelson Diaz, the general manager of the restaurant's Penn location, Diaz said. "For a minute, [you can] pretend you are in someone's kitchen, watching them eat."

The cafe offers 33 types of cereal, 36 toppings, smoothies, cereal bars, juices and drinks, along with an unlimited supply of four kinds of milk, soy milk among them.

"They give a fair amount, and it's not that overpriced," fifth-year Engineering submatriculant Gayle Laakmann said on her first visit to Cereality.

The first Cereality opened on Arizona State University's campus about a year and a half ago, and the chain is enjoying roaring business.

"We're pretty busy every day," ASU freshman and Arizona Cereality employee Nicolette David said. "Most of the customers come in the morning since we're a breakfast place."

But Diaz said lunchtime has been the busiest time of the day for Penn's Cereality, although weekends have also seen large crowds. With its homey environment, Cereality hopes to pull in not just students, but also children and families.

"I think it has a shot, but I don't know," Laakmann said. "Unless it is turned into more of an actual cafe, where you can order more of just breakfast stuff, probably not. I just came here because of the wireless."

However, there are currently no signs that the food selection will change anytime soon.

"The menu won't be expanded because what we're trying to push here is you create your own experience," Diaz said.

The store plans to have seasonal specials, such as Count Chocula cereal on Halloween.

But still, as far as the location on Walnut Street goes, potential customers have different opinions about the cafe.

"I come to Walnut Street to shop, not to eat," College junior Allison Parker said.

Cereality Bestsellers Cold Cereal Blend: "Life Experience" -- two scoops of Life cereal combined with bananas, almonds and honey. Hot Cereal Blend: "Banana Brown Betty" -- a hot oatmeal combination of molasses, banana syrup, bananas and streusel topping. Slurreality: "Bran New Day" -- a mixture of orange juice, low-fat vanilla yogurt, unprocessed bran and a banana.

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