Purdue University has found great success with an all-day cereal bar concept it developed in-house. Called Loops, it sits in the Memorial Union’s Urban Market upscale c-store and dispenses 30 different cold cereals (plus a selection of hot cereals and cereal bars), most of them traditional favorites, as well as a couple healthier options like lowfat granola and kashi.
But the real action at Loops is in the combos, says Gary Goldberg, director of dining services for Purdue Memorial Union. The combos consist of mixes of the different cereals and the various topping choices ranging from fruit and nuts to candy bits.
“A big favorite is ’24 Hours in a Candy Store’, which is Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs mixed with Heath Bar Crunch and topped with malt balls, Hershey’s Kisses and white chocolate kisses,” Goldberg says.
Other standard combos range from the relatively healthful, such as Banana Split (Special K with strawberries, bananas and chocolate chips), to the decadent, such as Chocolate Rainbow (Fruit Loops, Cocoa Krispies and chocolate milk).
The Urban Market specializes in organic, sustainable and natural foods. It is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the week and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays (it’s closed Saturdays). The renovated space opened on November 9th.