Were you one of those kids who had trouble waking up for school, but on Saturday mornings you were up before the sun, ready to binge on hours of cartoons? Chances are, you had a big bowl of some sort of hyper-colored pure sugar cereal to munch as you watched. If you grew up in one of those Grape Nuts houses, you merely wish you did.
Recapture that Saturday morning feeling at Arvada’s The Cereal Box, Inc. With around 120 different cereal options from around the world, your dream cereal combo is a splash of milk away. We met Lori Hofer, who owns The Cereal Box with her husband, Michael Emmerson. They are the hard-working, creative forces behind this fun food concept. Hofer shared, “My husband Michael and I were ready to take the leap to do something for ourselves and our family, and we were inspired by our own childhoods. We both grew up eating cereal, watching Saturday morning cartoons, and playing with toys. That feeling we get when we think back to those days is what we want people to feel when they come to The Cereal Box.”
They are happy to pour a straight-up bowl of your favorite flakes, but one of the best parts of The Cereal Boxes’ deep, deep menu is they are experts at mixing different cereals together in house blends, making flavor play off each other and colors unite in pure whimsy.
Here is where they take your bowl to the next level: There are toppings. Many, many toppings, from marshmallows to nuts to cookies, whipped cream to fresh fruit to flavored milks. Not a fan of cow milk? They have soy, almond, rice, coconut, and lactose-free options. Really, they’ve thought of everyone and their personal cereal philosophy.
Let’s say you go and the wall of 120 cereals is overwhelming. All those toppings are making your head spin. They have a handy menu of mixes. Do you swoon for s’mores? Try the S’morey Night, a blend of Golden Grahams, Cocoa Puffs, marshmallows, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and chocolate milk. Are you thinking you want to uphold your New Year’s resolution to knock it off with the chocolate? Squirrel Treats to the rescue: Honey Bunches of Oats, Honey Nut Cheerios, Grape Nuts, walnuts, and almond milk reporting for duty.
Several other colorful and flavorful mixes are on the menu, but you are happily welcome to invent your own! In fact, Hofer is often inspired by her fellow cereal aficionados: “ We love it when folks get creative and put together an amazing custom bowl. Sometimes we’ll see something they’ve built and realize they could be on to something. And we’ve adjusted our selection of toppings and cereals based on trends we’ve seen from our customers.”
When asked what her favorite cereal combination is, Hofer is a good person to listen to, “This is a tough one, and it definitely changes based on mood. For straight cereals, I love Crispix. But when I’m feeling fruity, I go for Trix. For our signature mixes, I’d say the “Funky Monkey” is up there (I love Honey Smacks and fresh bananas!), along with the “Cookies ‘n’ Cream, Y’all” (whose name is a nod to my southern roots).”
What if you aren’t feeling so breakfasty? The Cereal Box, Inc. knows it’s not always Saturday morning in everyone’s world. They mix up milkshakes topped with cereal as well. We tried Livin’ La Vida Coca, which is a chocolate shake with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, chocolate chips, and Cocoa Puffs dotted on top. To warm up, they have the Hot Mess! cocoa drinks. Add a shot of espresso to really wake up.
Rounding out the menu are the utterly whimsical, colorful sweet treat Pop! Tarts ice cream sandwiches in regular and gluten free options.
The Cereal Box, Inc. has a deep selection of pop culture figurines, toys, and seasonal and sought-after boxes of collector cereals. The bright, colorful, engaging shop is located in Olde Town Arvada, a neighborhood that has seen a vibrant rebirth in recent years. Hofer is proud to be part of this community and it’s very important to support small business: “We love Arvada! We are Arvada residents, and in watching the Olde Town Arvada area grow and thrive in the last few years, we knew it was the perfect spot for our family business. There are tons of local community events in Olde Town, such as the Farmers market, First Fridays, Second Saturdays (which is a summertime music festival), the Scarecrow Festival, Harvest Festival, the annual 4th of July Parade, Movies in the Plaza during the summer, The Chocolate Festival (coming up on February 3rd), the Egg Nog crawl, and Santa even comes a few times a month in December! And we’re located right across the street from the plaza where many of these events take place.”
The Cereal Box, Inc. is located at 5709 Olde Wadsworth Blvd, Arvada. They are closed on Mondays, but are open from 8am to 6pm-ish Tuesday through Thursdays and 8am to 8pm-ish Friday to Sunday. Visit their website at www.cerealboxinc.com for more information and to check out the menu.
CONTEST
Mile High Mamas is giving away an outing to the Cereal Box for your family. You may enter as many as five times below!
Author: gretchen
