£3.20 for a bowl of cereal - is there anything left out there that hasn't been wankified?

[Neverbuyheliumbalonz]

So the new cereal cafe has opened in East London, with a bowl of cereal going for £3.20. Apparently there are over a hundred types of cereal and 30 different types of milk.

On the opening day the owner got a bit of stick from a channel 4 reporter who questioned whether they should be selling cereal at £3.20 a bowl, considering they were in one of Londons poorest boroughs
www.channel4.com/news/cereal-cafe-opens-in-london-but-can-it-survive

Now I actually thought that that reporter was quite unfair because there are tonnes of places in that area selling overpriced shit that are 'not accessible to the poor' so I don't think these guys are doing anything different to anyone else in that respect. However the owner handled it terribly, especially when he said 'this isnt one of Londons poorest boroughs is it?' and when asked why the cereal was so expensive he said 'its imported from America' as if that justified it? He just epitomised the 'out of touch hipster'.

But AIBU to think that £3.20 for one bowl of cereal is just a hilarious rip off, regardless of whether you can afford it or not? Yes I know, people who go there are total mugs can spend their money how they choose and its 'an experience' or whatever.

But it's.........breakfast cereal

Plus they keep using the word 'source' when talking about the cereals (if we can source it, we will sell it) which automatically puts them into wankdom anyway.

I guess time will tell on this one...

Yeah, no one ever complains or stops buying Starbucks because the cost to Starbucks is 3p a cup.

Why would anybody spend money eating cereal in a cafe? It takes about 3 seconds to prepare it at home

Yeh, but a jacket spud costs pennies to make, but plenty of places charge £5 for them. The cost of ingredients is a very small part of what cafes and restaurants charge for their food.

Seems a bit of a one-hit wonder to me. I'd probably go once just to say I'd done it and then never go again. Because it's fucking breakfast cereal lol

YANBU

It's the bellend apocalypse

I think it's often underestimated how much rent, bills and staffing cost. I think £3.20 is reasonably myself. If I wanted breakfast that wasn't laden with fat whilst away from home I'd pay it. Plenty of people pay more than this for a cup of coffee.

Cereal though is different to other food. It takes time to make a jacket potato and a fair bit if hassle to do a full English whereas cereal is no effort at all. I honestly don't get it.

I begrudge £2.50 for a teabag and dash of milk more I think
However as others have said the food element is a tiny element of the cost, especially in an area of high rents and high(er) wages

plus they will have had to buy lots of fancy Schmanzy chairs I imagine
The OTT marketing and anticipated 'vibe' would probably stop me from visiting though

So YABU re £3.20 but YANBU over the rest of it

Yeh, but a jacket spud costs pennies to make, but plenty of places charge £5 for them.

But you have to wait ages for a jacket potato to cook, plus prepare the filling etc (I'm so lazy!) so I can understand people paying a bit more. Even decent coffee (ok so Starbucks is probably not decent) takes a while to make.

Cereal literally takes 10 seconds from start to finish. And lets face it, all cereals essentially taste the same ie. sugar.

I love cereal. I'd go there. But they need to tone down the wankery. Cereal is glorious enough.

Vested even FFS......

Ha ha, I also read that they employ a cereal mixologist. That would be what my 8 year old is in training for then; his cereal breakfast is mostly a Weetabix, and a sprinkle of a least three other types.

Shockingly, though I scoffed at the idea of 30 types of milk, I could think of at least a dozen without wracking my brains even a teeny tiny bit. When I were a lass, milk was milk, no options available.

I cant decide which phrase to use....

Some people have more money than sense, or
A fool and his money are soon parted!

I think both stand up to scrutiny, YANBU.

A cereal mixologist. Imagine putting that down under 'Occupation.'

I wonder how they keep the cereals fresh. I mean, if one isn't that popular, it'll just go soggy waiting for the next taker.

Well presumably they are "cooked" to order motley

I would be inventing a new job title if I had to put "cereal mixologist" on my CV! Barista would be ok wouldnt it?

That Channel 4 reporter wants a good kick in the cock. I am very unimpressed with the way these two blokes are being set up as 'everything that's wrong with the modern world'. Most places these days charge £2 for a bag of fucking chips to take away. No one has to go and eat in the cereal cafe if they don't want to, and its owners are undoubtedly paying business rent and business rates on their premises and employing people.
I note the reporter wasn't barging into the local pub and telling the owners to charge less for beer because it's a poor area...

Since when has a bowl of cereal been a treat?!

Rip off!! anyone who goes in there wants their head examined!

Oh I dunno ... trying to see this from the other side, I am still bewildered by learning that one of the best-selling products in the Whole Foods store in Detroit is a $6 cupcake.

I suppose £4+ is the kind of price you pay for one of those take-away soups and a bit of bread in one of those fancy soup kitchens in East London. And this cereal place does sell lots of different and exciting types of cereal. If people will pay £3.20, then it's a viable business and that means jobs.

I mean, look how much you can pay for a bag of sliced carrots in a supermarket. And all that is is some pealed and sliced raw carrots.

I am very interested in the 30 different types of milk thing though. I'd pop in just to check out what those were, tbh.

the bellend apocalypse.

I think I am slightly biased on the hipster thing - I am from the Home Counties, and many of my friends, who were perfectly normal people when they left for the bright lights of London, have either morphed into, or are surrounded by, people who are these 'hipster' types. They never fail to tell me how crap anywhere outside of London is, because 'nowhere else does Bolivian street food' ('street food' is my latest hate - ITS JUST FOOD!) and 'all the clubs anywhere else are just shit and cheesy' (unless you are going out specifically for an 'ironic cheesy club', then its ok) blah blah blah.

I'm uncool and proud!

If they were buying all the cereal in London and forcing the price up to 3.20 a bowl then the fact that Tower Hamlets is a poor area might be relevant. It's not like there aren't dozens of supermarkets near by stocked to the rafters with cheap working class cereal.

I'm sure they don't put them in the bowl with the milk in until it's ordered Motley!

I don't think it's any more a rip off than any food place.
Cup of tea
Ham sandwich
Boiled rice
Chips

Nobody would begrudge paying £5 for a glass of wine though would they? That involves someone taking a screwcap off a bottle and pouring it into a glass. Yes, you could get the whole bottle for £5 at the supermarket.

YABU. They saw a niche in the market, went for it and opened their own business. What's wrong with that? Seems you can't bloody well. Try to make a go of things and you'll still get moaned at.
If people couldn't afford it, then they just wouldn't go in, would they?! Same as with anywhere.
Yes, £3.20 is a mark up on what is essentially a bowl of cereal. As someone pointed out though, EVERYWHERE marks up stuff to a certain extent.
Some restaurants take the absolute piss and charge an extortionate amount of money on a glass of wine. Why is that acceptable but a bowl of cereal isn't?!
I think it sounds like a fun, different place to go and I'd LOVE to try it out if I was anywhere near!

Seems you can't bloody well
WIN, not well