The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2014–2020
Cereal Killer Cafe sold a million £3.20 bowls — the pandemic closed it
Cereal Killer Cafe, the Brick Lane cereal café that opened in 2014 and survived gentrification protests, closed its UK stores for good on 8 July 2020.
Cereal Killer Cafe · 2020-07
What happened
Identical twins Alan and Gary Keery, from Belfast, opened the first Cereal Killer Cafe on Brick Lane in east London in December 2014: cereals from around the world served in Nineties-themed surroundings at £3.20 a bowl. Their £60,000 Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign failed to reach its target, and the café opened on a business loan instead.
It became famous — and, in one of the UK's most deprived boroughs, infamous. In September 2015 anti-gentrification activists threw paint at the building and daubed 'scum' across it, and the café's expensive bowls in Tower Hamlets became a standing symbol of the gentrification debate. The Keerys rode the notoriety and expanded: by 2017 there were branches in Birmingham, Camden, Dubai, Kuwait and Jordan.
The pandemic ended the UK run. On 8 July 2020 the twins announced the cafés would not reopen: Brick Lane and Camden closed permanently after five and a half years and more than a million bowls sold, the business retreating to online sales on strong lockdown trade. 'Cheerio to the cafés for now,' Alan Keery signed off, 'and — we'll see you spoon.' The Dubai branch stayed open.
Why it happened
- A novelty café built on tourist footfall had no income when the pandemic emptied the city.
- The physical stores had been lightning rods for gentrification anger since 2015 — goodwill was thin.
- Lockdown online cereal sales were strong enough to keep the brand alive, but not to pay rent on two cafés.
The lesson
Cereal Killer survived a failed crowdfunding round and a 'scum' protest to sell over a million bowls — but a novelty café runs on footfall, and the pandemic took that away.
Aftermath
The brand continues online; as of 2023 the Dubai branch remains open.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Cereal Killer Cafe (founded 2014 by identical twins Alan and Gary Keery from Belfast; original Brick Lane location opened December 2014; £60,000 Indiegogo campaign unsuccessful, funded by a business loan; bowls priced £3.20; September 2015 anti-gentrification activists threw paint and wrote 'scum' on the building; by 2017 locations in Birmingham, Dubai, Kuwait and Jordan; UK locations closed permanently 8 July 2020 due to the pandemic; Dubai location still open as of 2023)
- iNews, 13 July 2020 — Cereal Killer Café shuts down: owners say 'Cheerio' and 'see you spoon' (closure announced 13 July 2020 after five and a half years; Brick Lane and Camden outlets closed permanently with the business moving online; owners Belfast twins Alan and Gary Keery cited the coronavirus pandemic drying up business; Alan Keery: 'It's been the absolute most incredible five-and-a-half years… We've sold over a million bowls of cereal'; sign-off 'Cheerio to the cafés for now and — we'll see you spoon'; bowls of Corn Flakes charged at £3.20; became a symbol of the gentrification debate)
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
More like this
GBK was bought for $143M — four years later it went into administration
Byron went from £100M to £856,000 in ten years
KFC UK switched to DHL and lost chicken supply — 646 stores closed overnight
Somewhere, someone solved the problem this company failed at. 2nd Opinion →
Comments · 0
Sign in to join the comments.