Boston’s First Cereal Dessert Bar Opens in Brighton

Courtesy Day & Night Cereal Bar

Once Louis “Bizzy Genius” Elveus pulled the “coming soon” signs off the windows for the soft opening of Day and Night Cereal Bar, customers started wandering in off the sidewalk—almost like they were lured by the tantalizing scent of cereal a la Toucan Sam, the talking bird mascot who would beckon “Just follow my nose!” in ‘80s Froot Loops commercials. Which is a pretty perfect development, given that the Boston’s first think-outside-the-cereal-box dessert restaurant features a Froot Loops dispenser behind the counter, along with ample offerings of other dopamine-sparking cereals. Frosted Flakes. Reese’s Puffs. Honey Nut Cheerios. The list goes on.

Ahead of Day and Night Cereal Bar’s June 1 grand opening, Elveus describes his new spot’s offerings—ice cream concoctions topped with cereal and other goodies—as “nostalgia in the form of a bowl or a shake.” Poll a group of kids about what their dream restaurant is, and it’s probably close to Day and Night, which Karmon Dupree Jr., Danielle Booker, and Greg Robinson first founded as a Los Angeles food truck in 2020 and then led to a handful of brick-and-mortar spots around the country. Heck, most adults would agree too, because there absolutely is no age cap on the pure sugar-rush of joy brought on by something like the Mucha Lucha, a bowl of vanilla ice cream topped with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and churro cereal. Or the Cookies & Cream, which sees Oreo ice cream topped with Cookie Crisp and Hershey’s Cookie & Cream cereals, plus a chocolate donut sprinkle.

The Mucha Lucha / Courtesy Day & Night Cereal Bar

The creatively stocked menu features twelve concoctions, and patrons can dig into them as bowls (served with a milk drizzle) and as shakes, which see all ingredients blended and served in a to-go cup with a rim of cereal bits and sprinkles. (Or you can feel free to let out that inner kid and design your own bowl or shake.) There are also waffle fries—that is, fries actually made from waffles, which you can (and absolutely should) get drizzled with chocolate sauce. Vegan options are on offer, too.

“It reminds me of Saturday morning cartoons,” Elveus says of the concept. “Like being a kid, when there’s no real stressors and you’re just in the moment.”

Born in Roxbury, Elveus grew up in Dorchester’s Upham’s Corner. As Bizzy Genius, he produces music and sells instrumentals and beats to record companies, which first drew him to California, where he stayed for several years. He spotted the Day and Night food truck in LA and the throwback-joy it sparked in people. He met Dupree, one of the owners, and caught up with him a few years later after moving back to Boston, and the brand had expanded to more cities. “I just knew that it would hit home for many people as it did for me,” he says, on why he decided to open a Boston location.

The Rooooby Snacks / Courtesy Day & Night Cereal Bar

While Elveus runs the franchise like a small business, the menu is pretty similar to the brand’s other locations in Washington, D.C. Charlotte, North Carolina. Check out the Simpsons shout-out called the Homer, which starts with Oreo ice cream, then adds Honey Nut Cheerios and Hershey’s Kisses cereal, and tops it off with a chocolate donut sprinkle. Or Unicorn Breath, a sugary pink fantasy with Fruity Lucky Charms, Fruity Pebbles, whipped cream, and a strawberry drizzle. One of Elveus’s favorites is the Rooooby Snacks—a sweet symphony of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, graham cracker and Oreo bits with peanut butter and chocolate drizzles. Best of all, the Brighton menu features a Boston-specific dish, too: the Fresh Prince of Boston, with Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms and Frosted Flakes tossed on a vanilla ice cream base. (More Boston-centric dishes are in the works—maybe a Fields Corner bowl or a Celtic shake, depending on the flavors customers love the most.)

The McFlyyyy (Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, and gummy bears) in a bowl. / Courtesy Day & Night Cereal Bar

Besides all the treats, the Brighton restaurant is one big dessert for the eyes. Elveus designed it himself, with people like his girlfriend Courtney pitching in to bring the breakfast fantasy to life. He describes it as “a mini cereal museum.” Playground is more like it, though, with sprinkles wallpaper, and cereal-themed art everywhere bringing the “kid in a candy store” vibes. And the glowing sign above a pink wavy mirror? “Cereal killer,” of course.

Soon enough, Elveus plans to keep the restaurant open until 2 or 3 a.m.—“night” is right there in the name after all. For now, though, swing in for a to-go shake, load up the recently rebooted X-Men ’97 cartoon on Disney+ and get ready to nosh into nostalgia.

6 Tremont St., Brighton, instagram.com/dayandnightboston; opening hours: Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Courtesy Day & Night Cereal Bar

Courtesy Day & Night Cereal Bar