£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...

I can't see the place lasting, never mind all this fuss about what the journalist said. Firstly, if it's only selling cereal and the odd bit of toast, how are they going to get the punters In through the day? I don't want cereal at lunchtime or tea time and if I go past a regular cafe on the way to work every day, I don't want to have the same damn thing every day. I want a choice of different food items not just a slight variation on the same thing. They will have to rely on tourists visiting it specially for the novelty factor I suppose. And even then if you're in a group you've got to all agree to have cereal for breakfast as there's no other choice. Craving for poached egg on toast? Cheap and easy to make but they're not offering it.

On a cold day only a bowl of porridge or a fry up would satisfy me but they're not doing either. Yes you can have hot milk to warm you up but who the hell wats hot milk on their cornflakes.

For me it comes down to the real lack of choice. It's why I wouldn't ever go to Nando's or a burger place. Or a pizza restaurant that does very little else. I want to be able to look at a menu and see what I fancy right at that moment from a range of different things.

As for the whole Costa/Starbucks argument, well - actually, I DO avoid those places. I remember the buzz of excitement when the first Starbucks opened locally in London by us about 12 years ago. I clearly remember sitting there sipping my coffee and thinking "WHAT? This is just coffee." Think I was expecting some kind of Willy Wonka experience and it was just ordinary. With rip off prices. So I don't go in those places either. I don't want to haemorrhage money on one drink, but plenty do I suppose, do maybe this place WILL be successful as who can tell which way these things are going to go? There are always people with money willing to pay daft prices for ordinary things bigged up.

I thought the way he reacted was ridiculous. All he had to do was point out that he was based in an area which is full of restaurants (mostly run by the local Bangladeshi community) and that he was provided employment and bringing in a lot of publicity and business to the area which would benefit the community as a whole.

Yes, because everyone finds it totally easy to put across a well thought out, articulate argument when put on the spot. I know I can. Not

Well anyway, the whole country is talking about this place. Very canny.

Ooh I love this thread!

It's got something for everyone

Middle class hipsters
London house prices
The cost of living
Cereal
The price of cupcakes
Social media
Beards
Capitalism
Cats!

Jeez the guys are starting their won business, employing people and paying taxes. And there's one less empty shop in a high street - I take my hats off to them!
I wonder in comparison, what do people on here think £3.20 will buy you in terms on a sit in breakfast around London?

HELIUM, fair point well made, IMHO.

CHA - exactly! The "cunning" article in the DM about this place and its disgusting prices, gave almost it's full menu, address and opening hours! The owners must be loving this

It sounds like the kind of place you'd go after a boozy night out - and as such I can see it working. The interior is all old cereal comercials and such- it seems like a fun nostalgic place to hang out.

Jeez the guys are starting their won business, employing people and paying taxes. And there's one less empty shop in a high street - I take my hats off to them!

Exactly! Me too. There's always going to be some moaners who are never happy regardless!

And in that area a poached egg on toast will cost about £7. A £3.50 bowl of cereal is not out of line with that.

Yes, I accept he was busy and put on the spot, but it was the fact that he seemed genuinely surprised by the line of questioning and clueless about the area.

I think this is because up to now he woke up in the morning (probably listening to 6 music or similar), he washed his beard and slicked back his hair, he got dressed into his skinny jeans/skinny tie combo (sourced from the 'vintage' shop round the corner), he walked to the train station, perhaps stopping off at the little coffee shop for a latte and artisan bagel, and then got the train to wherever he works. When he saw any 'foreign people', he probably congratulated himself on living in such a diverse and cosmopolitan area (and of course he was going to that recital of African music tonight that he read about in The Londonist, so he knows all about other cultures.) His own little Brick Lane Bubble.

Ok, I am being unfair and rather massively projecting here, as i dont know anything about this guy. But when he says 'this isn't one of the poorest boroughs in London is it?' And comes across as clueless about the place where he has decided to start a business, then it does make you wonder.

I quite like the idea of a fun treat place for the kids in that area but that's not a sustainable income stream.

Brick Lane hipsters work and sleep funny hours so that should help with the turnover, but I think the real key to making money in the area is attracting the City boys (and girls - actually I think young female City workers will love this). If this huge amount of publicity makes the banking/law firm/insurance staff take the ten minute walk East then these guys could do quite well, and good luck to them.

What the feck is a hipster???

Well, it doesn't look like they'll be TOO bothered by all the sniping.
(Yes, it's a Daily Mail link. Wah, wah)
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2871884/What-PR-disaster-Queues-form-outside-hipster-cereal-cafe-excruciating-interview-owner-didn-t-like-questions-poverty.html

Chrikey, so there is a nostalgia theme with an 80s and 90s vibe.. that makes me feel old. 90s is too mod for me!

Well, it doesn't look like they'll be TOO bothered by all the sniping.

No, you're right. I counted 13 whole people in the not-exactly-round-the-block queue in the picture.

I don't care too much about the price (I couldn't afford it anyway) but it does make me want to go home

*I was born and raised in Tower Hamlets but can't afford to go back and it makes me sad. I want pie and mash from a proper shop, fuck the cereal

So what if it's not all he way round the block? There's still people queuing to get in which means they're busy.
Christ, some people are joyful little bundles of fun, aren't they?! Or more to the point full of doom, gloom and determined to see the black in everything underneath their little thunder cloud that follows them around above their head.

the

I wish I hadn't sold my flat there, but the neo nazi marches and racist attacks were getting a bit much...

I don't suppose the 24 hour bagel shop is still there? Big bag of fresh bagels for pennies!

BBBB is indeed still there - there'd be riots if it went.

YANBU.

I am totally unsurprised at him being unaware that tower hamlets is such a poor borough.

People will undoubtedly flock to his shop though, so he will carry on and do well in his nice hipster bubble.

I don't think it's gloomy to suggest that 12 people - after a lot of media coverage - doesn't give any indication that the thing is sustainable in the long term.

Are you their mum?

I want pie and mash from a proper shop, fuck the cereal

Manzes will send pies by courier. Yum!

The hipster twins are from Belfast, so maybe that's why they hadn't realised that Tower Hamlets is a very poor borough? However, there are also many people living/working there or near there who can easily afford to buy a bowl of cereal.

But I think this is because up to now he woke up in the morning (probably listening to 6 music or similar), he washed his beard and slicked back his hair, he got dressed into his skinny jeans/skinny tie combo (sourced from the 'vintage' shop round the corner), he walked to the train station, perhaps stopping off at the little coffee shop for a latte and artisan bagel, and then got the train to wherever he works. When he saw any 'foreign people', he probably congratulated himself on living in such a diverse and cosmopolitan area (and of course he was going to that recital of African music tonight that he read about in The Londonist, so he knows all about other cultures.) His own little Brick Lane Bubble Love this!

We have many hipster joints opening up in Peckham - totally at odds with the vast number of people living in the area, but similarly, there are plenty of others living/working nearby who can easily afford their (not overly expensive prices)