SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Scooping cereal into a bowl has become a work of art and something to look forward to every day for Laterica Reddix, who has turned one of her favorite memories — waking up on Saturday mornings for cartoons and her favorite bowl of cereal — into a business.

“You know it was an event and something to look forward to and I wanted to create Saturday mornings every day for everyone,” Reddix said.

Reddix opened her cereal bar, Cerealism, in December of last year, but planned to open sooner. She said the pandemic and red tape have not made it a smooth process to get her paperwork approved in order to open her business.

“Our country’s not the same anymore. So, their process changed,” she said. “You can’t just walk in and turn in paperwork. You need an appointment, or some people are remote, so you have to wait certain days to get things done.”

The lingering pandemic effects, Reddix said, are still affecting availability of supplies and cost.

“Milk is crazy. Our main focus on milk is oat milk and, of course, oat milk is already expensive but it’s the best option for people who have nut allergies and dairy allergies.”

For all that the pandemic has disrupted, Reddix’s cereal bar is part of a record number of new small businesses formed in the last two years, according to the Census Bureau.

Something business experts like Cameron Law, who’s been a director at Sacramento State’s Carlsen Center for three years, said is not necessarily a surprise given the huge shake-up to so many industries during the pandemic.

“There’s really two types of new start-ups or business creations, and that’s out of necessity or opportunity. And when the pandemic happened, a lot of people lost their jobs and so it was actually a necessity to go and apply for a business license so they could create a job and create revenue for themselves,” Law said.

Finding employees for many businesses in the hospitality industry has been a struggle, but Reddix said she has overcome the shortage.

“I took a different approach looking for employees. One requirement was they create a TikTok post, create a social media post surrounding cereal. I also pay above minimum wage, so they feel valued,” she said. 

The fun work environment, Reddix said, also helps her keep employees and customers. Each area of the cereal bar has been designed as an experience, every spot with a picture worthy backdrop for any social media post.

These things, Law said, are important for businesses in the post-pandemic world.

“I think part of it for the small businesses is to think about not just selling this type of food or this type of product, but what are [the customers] getting out of this? Are they getting an experience also? Especially with the way people have shifted their consumption from, say, a DoorDash, or those types of things, why would they be coming to a restaurant instead of ordering delivery?” he said.

Reddix said even though there have certainly been some bumps, she’s not sure she would have been able to open her business had it not been for pandemic related grants.

“You know when you’re given opportunities and you’re a dreamer, that combined only kind of fuels that fire,” she said.

A fire and dream Reddix hopes will continue to create success for her business, so she can continue to bring artistic cereal to all.