For cereal lovers, coffee connoisseurs, and retro game enthusiasts, CTRL Coffee and Cereal Bar is a must. Located off of South 10th and Pacific, this local gem resides just south of the heart of downtown Omaha.
Upon arrival, the outside of the building is nothing to write home about, but the inside is a whole different story. When you first enter the building you are met with a variety of retro decor as well as playable vintage video game systems such as Sega, NES, SNES, and Pac-Man. If video games aren’t your forte there is also a small bookshelf for those who prefer winding down with a good book.
Moving onto the cereal bar, when putting together your cereal you can pick three kinds of cereal, two toppings, and your choice of milk. For people with dietary restrictions, there are gluten and dairy-free options. The overall portion size is pretty impressive, and for five dollars it is definitely worth the money even if just for the experience. When I went, I ordered and would recommend ordering, Captain Crunch, Coco Puffs, and Frosted Flakes with banana slices and chocolate syrup on top.
Another draw are the drinks. For fans of the classics, CTRL has all the coffee shop staples at relatively reasonable prices. They also have specialty drinks named after influential celebrities. A fun touch to the specialty drinks is they come with the celebrities’ faces printed onto the lattes. I’m not a big coffee drinker myself, so I got the Selena, which is a chai with caramel, white chocolate, and cinnamon. It was delicious. I recommend it to any fellow chai lovers. If you’re looking for a more colorful drink, they have Lotus energy drinks that are named after classic Nintendo characters, as well as flavored lemonade.
CTRL is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday through Sunday. They are closed on Monday. The busiest times are mid-morning Saturday and Sunday, so if you want to avoid large crowds, I would recommend either going really early or later in the day on weekends.
Overall the experience, drinks, and of course cereals, makes CTRL a place that I am already planning my next trip to. It’s a place I recommend everyone in Omaha visit at least once.