It’s the only café in town that doesn’t serve salads, sandwiches or any hot food, which, according to Greg Wall, prompts many customers to ask when they walk inside, “How does this work?”

Wall is among three proprietors of Cereal Port Café, an unusual little spot in the College Area that feeds two very distinct markets: those looking for something healthy to eat and those with mothers who never let them eat what they dreamed about as kids. We’re talking about nearly every type of cereal and their potential concoctions, ranging from fibrous and nutritious to fun and over-the-top saccharine.

From a menu listing 27 signature cereal “blends,” there’s the Tree Hugger comprised of trail mix and soymilk as well as The Coed, a mix of Kashi GoLean, dried mangos and soymilk.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the choices become intriguingly more colorful, if not lawless in terms of feeding one’s sugar fantasies. Consider The Boulevard, for instance. It’s made of Trix, chocolate-chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and strawberry milk. The St. Paddy’s Bowl mixes Lucky Charms and Smarties candy. And the Dessert Bowl, which Wall says is the most popular, consists of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

In honor of the café’s other two partners, both of whom are Asian, there’s the Rice Rocket, a crackling treat made of Rice Krispies and Pop Rocks. “It’s great because it pops and splatters in your face. You almost need a bib when eating it,” Wall says.

In addition, the menu offers something called Rainbow-L that was devised by a lesbian employee of the café. It’s a combination of Fruit Loops, rainbow sprinkles and strawberry milk.

“We’re serious about selling cereal, except that we’re not serious about how people choose to eat it,” Wall says, referring also to an option called The Five-Year Plan, which sells for $5.55. Here, customers choose from a selection of about 50 commercial brands of cereal and numerous ingredients that include marshmallows, fresh fruit and various candies – enough to fit into a 32-ounce bowl.

“It’s amazing what people order in that bowl,” he quips.

Though some of the cereal bowls come with a specific type of milk, customers can nonetheless choose from nonfat, 2 percent, whole, soy or Lactaid milks. And with the exception of the Five-Year Plan, the bowls range from $2.99 to $4.19. He notes, however, that the café doesn’t make its own cereal; rather it blends popular cereals with “mixables and toppables.”

Wall’s team scouted numerous sites throughout the city before finding what he calls their “ideal location just across the street from the SDSU campus.” The storefront was originally slated to be torn down by the SDSU Foundation to build a strip plaza on the property. But after city funds fell through, Wall and his partners were offered the lease.

Wall adds that the trio is intent on opening more Cereal Port Cafés – preferably one in Las Vegas at either Circus Circus or Excalibur.

Cereal Port Café is located at 5157 College Ave. It is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., although Wall soon plans to extend the hours into the evening. For more information, call the café at (619) 286-5000.