Cereality® Cereal Bar & Cafe Adds an All-Star Team of Talent

 

Chicago, Feb 22, 2005 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Cereality® Cereal Bar & Cafe, the breakthrough restaurant concept that brings the experience of "all cereal, all day, all ways" to life -- is building its executive team with top talents from "best-in-breed" companies in a variety of industries.

 

"Every member of the team at Cereality is driven to build a world-class company and brand, not just open stores or do product line extensions," said David Roth, CEO and co-founder. "We have a unique opportunity to take the initial excitement around our concept and make our company one that outstanding professionals want to call 'home.'"

Ric Smith joins Cereality as Senior Vice President of Store Development. He will lead the real estate team to find new locations for Cereality, as well as working with the construction and design teams that will execute the units, making sure they "fit" the needs of the customer base in the area. Smith comes to Cereality with a nearly 20-year track record in commercial real estate, including his recent position as director of real estate for Potbelly Sandwich Works and earlier role as a director of development at Starbucks Coffee Company.

"As an emerging brand, dynamic real estate is key to our growth strategy and Ric is regarded in the industry as a 'maverick,'" said Roth. "He is tremendously well-connected and strategic and has outstanding rapport with both brokers and developers. Very comfortable with the challenges of meteoric growth companies, at Starbucks, Ric was responsible for opening 300+ stores."

With more than a decade of experience as a human resources professional, Mike Romano joins Cereality as Director of People, where he is responsible for championing the unique corporate culture and heading up recruitment, training and benefits for Cereality's "Cereologist" servers as well as back office staff and other team members. Romano was most recently an HR executive at Starbucks Coffee Company and spent much of his career at Southwest Airlines, working in a variety of "people"-oriented positions.

John ("JR") Rolleston has joined Cereality as Senior Vice President of Operations. With more than 25 years experience with such brands as Perkins, Arby's, Miami Subs, and Bennigan's, JR comes to the company most recently from Starbucks Coffee Company where he was a regional director overseeing 90+ units in four Mid-Western states, with an aggressive growth plan of 30+ new stores per year. At Cereality, he leads the operations team, with a focus on customer care and a world-class experience for employees as well.

"What makes Cereality so innovative in the quick-service restaurant category is our emphasis on the customer experience," said Roth. "It's not just that we custom-blend a bowl of your favorite cereals but it's the way our Cereologists™ ask 'how do you like YOUR cereal?' when they take an order. We believe Mike and JR can help us fine-tune that customer experience so that our goals for an aggressive national rollout plan can be achieved."

Brian Giacobbe has joined Cereality as Vice President of Innovation. He is responsible for driving the creation of ingenious and delicious new cereal- based foods at Cereality, making sure they meet consumer demand for taste, quality and nutrition. Giacobbe was recently Director of Research & Development at Quaker Foods, where he led product development teams and helped launch more than 40 new products. He also held key positions at Kraft Foods in the US and Canada and at General Foods.

"Cereality's ingenious use of branded cereals 'beyond the bowl' -- in our Slurreality™ smoothies made with cereal and addictive snack mixes and bars -- is what helped put our concept on the map," said Rick Bacher, Cereality co-founder and Chief Creative Officer. "We are committed to innovation in every area -- in menu ideas and style of service -- and Brian has the experience and the passion for the cereal category to help us continue to change the way people think about cereal."

This new executive team reports to Tim Casey, Cereality's chief operating officer. The company's new headquarters in Chicago will be open in April 2005. Cereality expects to open 10 more stores in the next 15 months in Chicago and the greater Chicagoland area, as well as on the East Coast and in Southern California.

About Cereality:Cereality is an exciting, patent-pending new business that breaks the mold of traditional foodservice to bring a unique, highly personal all-day dining experience to the consumer, entirely focused around brand-name cereals. One of the most compelling aspects of Cereality is that the menu offerings are already famous, with favorite brands from Quaker Oats, Kellogg's, General Mills and Post.

Customers can choose from 30 different cereal varieties, 30 different toppings, a variety of milks (including soy and lactose-free milks) and choices of hot and cold beverages. Yet, these cereals aren't just served in bowls. They're also used in proprietary cereal bars, snack mixes, granolas, and smoothies. Customers can even get Quaker hot cereals made-to-order. Cereal boxes are displayed in custom-built kitchen cabinets to create a unique residential, home kitchen atmosphere. Pajama-clad Cereologists™ prepare orders to customers' specifications or they can customize their favorite cereal and topping combination utilizing the Invent-a-Blend™ touch-screen terminal that records their preferences for future visits.

After a hugely successful August 2003 launch at Arizona State University's Memorial Union, Cereality is now expanding beyond the on-campus environment with full cafes in Philadelphia and Chicago. Their first full cafe, a 1,500 square-foot format, opened December 1st, across from The Wharton School of Business. Their first Chicago location will be at 100 South Wacker at Monroe, across the street from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (announced earlier today). That cafe is scheduled to open in late spring.

For more information about Cereality, go to http://www.cereality.com. Photos of both Cereality locations can be provided upon request.

source: Cereality

contact:Lisa Kovitz, +1-212-614-5041, lisa_kovitz@nyc.bm.com, or Lisa Hofstetter, +1-212-614-5257, lisa_hofstetter@nyc.bm.com, both of Burson-Marsteller, for Cereality