Barley is set to become what the owner says is Montreal’s only cereal bar, on the corner of Charlevoix and Notre-Dame streets in Montreal’s Saint-Henri borough.
“It’s hard to compete with cereal,” said barista Andrea Vargas.
“It’s the easiest thing to pour at the beginning of the day, or the end of the day.”
The cereal bar is the brainchild of Soufian Mamlouk, who grew up eating sugary cereals like Count Chocula and Cap’n Crunch that were imported from the U.S. by family members when he was a kid in Lebanon.
He lists Count Chocula as his personal favourite.
He has more than 200 cereal boxes in storage at the bar and his home.
While he points out that the splashy, sugary cereals that became famous in the 1980s will likely bring people in the door, the core business could easily become the organic granola.
“I know cereal has fans just like myself, but I also know today’s world is a little healthier,” he said.
A typical bowl of cereal will run about $8.
Customers will be able to eat it with ice cream or in a smoothie and some of his wares are seasonal or hard to find.
Barley is slated to open its doors in early October.