This Bakery Started In An NYC Apartment — Now Its $50 Cereal Sells Out Daily

It's not common for a breakfast cereal to require you to stand in line — but at L'Appartement 4F in New York City, that's the norm. What began as Ashley and Gautier Coiffard making baked goods out of their Brooklyn apartment evolved into something of a cult following, largely driven by the viral sensation, Petite Céréale, a cereal made from miniature croissants. L'Appartement 4F's croissants, regardless of size, are rolled by hand and are known to contain more butter than a classic croissant recipe — a trait that can make preparations difficult but results in a richer flavor.

Though the scarcity of petit croissant cereal might seem like a marketing gimmick, the challenge is that L'Appartement 4F's process remains the same as making the perfect regular-sized croissants, just in smaller form. Each mini croissant takes around a minute to make. The Coiffards are now joined by a small team, and the mini croissants are coated in a cinnamon-infused syrup before being dehydrated. The result is a sweet crunch that pairs well with milk or milk substitutes like oat milk. Some have compared the taste to crispy French toast served in a bowl.

 "I've never had freshly made cereal like this before and it was AMAZING!" added one reviewer on Instagram, who called the quality worth the $50 splurge. But if you want any chance of trying Petite Céréale for yourself, a strategic approach is required.

To get your hands on a box of Petite Céréale, plan your visit to L'Appartement 4F as close to 8 a.m. as possible — and expect to find a line, with weekend queues running longer than weekday ones. Around 10 boxes of the cereal are made daily, and they sell out nearly every day at both the Brooklyn Heights and West Village locations. The bakery neither ships the cereal nor accepts pre-orders, so an in-person visit is the only way to secure a box. 

Each individual piece and batch of Petite Céréale is inspected carefully before being packaged. Even the packaging itself has won fans, with some noting that the cereal box is something to be kept, even after the cereal is gone. Those who manage to get their hands on the unique breakfast cereal are rarely disappointed. "The best cereal I've ever had," wrote one lucky customer on Instagram. "If only I could have this for breakfast every morning," added another fan on Instagram. 

A full-sized box of Petite Céréale sells for $50, and a smaller portion is available for $25. For maximum freshness, the bakers suggest enjoying the cereal within three weeks, since the tiny croissants are dehydrated after they are baked.