The Demise Of Cereal City USA

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Snap. Crackle. Flop.

Cereal City USA, an attraction devoted to the breakfast food that made this city famous, closed for good today after years of soggy attendance figures.

"We make this decision with great sadness," said Cheryl Beard, chairwoman of the Heritage Center Foundation, the organization that operated the 9-year-old facility.

Cereal City started in 1998, filling a gap left when Battle Creek-based Kellogg Co. ended its 80-year tradition of giving public tours of its production plant. It featured a mock cereal factory, a cereal museum and interactive exhibits.

Kellogg provided some early philanthropic support and allowed the foundation to use some of its licensed characters, including Tony the Tiger, but attendance fell off sharply after the attraction's first year, when it drew 162,000. The foundation projected that last year's attendance was 79,500, an all-time low.

Kellogg spokesman Tim Knowlton said the foundation made "a difficult but necessary decision."

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