Bookstores, gyms and trendy accessory shops. Evanston's already got them all.
But when Sherman Plaza opens later this year, at least one business will offer something unique: cereal.
Cereality Cereal Bar and Cafe plans to open its second Chicago-area location in late summer at Sherman Plaza, the development now under construction on Davis Street between Sherman and Benson avenues. With more than 30 different cereal varieties and 40 different toppings, Cereality will join other chain stores such as Barnes & Noble, LA Fitness and Pier 1 Imports, all of which will move into the 25-story residential and commercial complex.
"We love Evanston because it has such a different type of cross section of people coming to the sites - obviously college students, but also families and tourists and professionals and teenagers," said Cereality's co-founder and Chief Executive Officer David Roth. "It offers us that sort of urban pulse, but also a suburban marketplace as well."
The company opened its first store at Arizona State University in 2003 and has expanded to two sites in Pennsylvania and one in Chicago's Loop at 100 S. Wacker Dr. After receiving many inquiries about franchising, Cereality plans to do just that, with its new Evanston store playing a key role in the expanding chain.
"We have an extraordinary amount of demand, and we're involved in organizing that process now," he said. "We're constantly inventing new ways to get cereal to people."
Why cereal? Roth and co-founder Rick Bacher worked together as marketing consultants and noticed a trend of more people munching on cereal, from people on "Wall Street snacking on Cocoa Puffs to moms pushing strollers, carrying bags of Cheerios."
Roth describes the store as a "kitchen à la Seinfeld, with kitchen cabinets stocked with nothing but cereals." Employees, called "Cereologists," wear pajamas. Cartoons play on TVs and customers sit around the cafe on kitchen stools, around a big community dining table or in a cozy living room area.
"Cereality is your home for cereal away from home," he said. "The idea is to take cereal as a starting point and create a full menu of options."
Stores offer signature blends like "Life's Experience," which includes Life cereal, sliced bananas, almonds and honey. Customers also can customize their cereal according to personal tastes. Beyond that, Cereality sells smoothies, parfaits and a variety of baked goods, coffees and espresso drinks.
"People often think of Cereality as a place where you can combine cold cereals and a topping, but that's just one aspect," Roth said.
The company has its own utensil, the "sloop," which lets customers eat their cereal and then slurp up the milk at the bottom of the bowl.
Roth said customers can get a full meal for under $4, which includes cereal, a topping and one of the store's seven milks.
The Evanston store will also be used to fulfill online orders and train new franchisees.
"It's not rocket science to instruct people to put cereal in a bowl," said Roth. "But it's an art to (successfully run a Cereality cafe). You bring people to your training facility and you instruct them on how to manage and operate a unit. Ours is going to be in Evanston. Evanston is going to play a very key role for us."
The Evanston store will offer free Wi-fi Internet access and may feature late hours and open mic nights to try to make Cereality a "real gathering spot and a cool neighborhood hub."
Weinberg freshman Kerri Metcalf visited Cereality's cafe in the Loop. She ordered the Apple Pie à -la-Bowl, which she said was a tasty combination of oatmeal, apples and caramel.
"It was like a Cold Stone with cereal," she said. "We have all those trendy new restaurant chains like Jamba Juice, Cosi, Panera Bread. I think it would be good."
Reach Matt Presser at m-presser@northwestern.edu.
