Spoony Sweets brings the cereal - and the memories
Maybe the fictional Jerry Seinfeld was just smarter than the rest of us, whatwith his never-ending supply of sugary breakfast cereal lining the shelves of his “Seinfeld” set kitchen.
I mean really: What adults - especially adults who don’t have little kids - are going to the grocery store and walking out with Lucky Charms? Probably not a lot.
So yeah. You might say Spoony Sweets Cereal Cafe in Hamilton is filling a niche you didn’t even know you needed filled. Simply put, the cafe is cereal heaven: Over 40 different cereals, including new issues and old favorites. You walk in, you pick two, you add a topping, choose a drizzle and a milk, and you’re 7 years old again and it’s Saturday morning and “Scooby-Doo” is on and all is right with the world.
Just ask co-owner Ryan Knipe. “While it’s great to see the kids come in and see their smiling faces, seeing the adults go from ‘whatever’ to … well, they start geeking out. ‘Oh my god, I used to eat that cereal all the time!’ and they get so hyped and then I get this energy inside me. Everyone is on high, and everyone is like ‘yeah!’ When that happens, it fills me up. I love it.”
Who knew a few Cocoa Krispies could have such an effect? (Before we go any further, here’s a random combo I just picked out off the menu, and if you say anything other than, “Wow, that sounds great” you’ve got issues: Cap’N Crunch and Reese’s Puffs with Nutella and a vanilla drizzle with chocolate milk. Or how about Cocoa Puffs and Golden Grahams with mini marshmallows and a caramel drizzle, white milk? Possibilities are endless. This place is ridiculous. By the way, located at 2222 Route 33 in Hamilton.)
“We’ve had amazing support from residents, both in Hamilton and the surrounding towns,” said Knipe. “We’re so happy we’re here.”
And “here” is something special, as it turns out. Knipe and his partner - both in cereal and in life - is Medina Cekic. They’ve been together for a few years, have six sons between them, and are on their “back 9,” as Knipe put it.
And get this: Knipe lives down in Cumberland County. Cekic lives in Brooklyn. They chose Hamilton because it was centrally located between them. And dig it (spoon it?): Both of them are commuting over an hour to get here, seven days a week.
Opening a business is hard; opening a business that demands you’re in the shop over 75 hours a week is harder; opening a business that’s an hour away from home is even harder; and doing it all in a town you’re not familiar with, with people you don’t know? Seems impossible. Except …
“We love it here,” said Cekic. “It’s unbelievable. We’ve gotten so much support. It’s insane. And not just Hamilton; from everywhere in Mercer County.”
Seriously: It’s one thing for your cousin Sal to open up a cereal joint in Hamilton, where he knows hundreds of people already, and his cousin Danielle owns the salon up the road, and Sgt. Johnson tells all his friends, and on and on. But to come in cold? That’s a risk, and a risk Knipe and Cekic are thrilled they took.
So much so, once Knipe’s youngest son - he’s 16 - finishes high school, Cekic and Knipe and plan to move together to Hamilton.
Just like that, the town gets a cereal cafe and a great couple. Not bad.
And know this: It’s more than just cereal for these two. Their goal is help foster community in a time when it’s not that easy to do so.
“When you go places, no one knows who your are,” Knipe said. “We want to change that mindset. I like seeing that wall break down. This is more than cereal. It’s for all of us to experience kindness.”