Started by Samantha Stephens, OatMeals is a specialty, single-item cafe and bakery serving all things oats. We stopped by the adorably pint-sized shop to find out more about the eatery’s unique creations. Peanut butter, banana, bacon, honey and sea salt oatmeal, anyone?
oatmeals
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Greenwich Village Location
"I looked all over to find a space. This one just felt right, even though it's a little quirky with the massage parlor next door and the tarot readings downstairs. That's kind of what I love about it and we're right next to NYU, which is great."
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Menu
“We’re constantly experimenting and adding things to our signature menu. When I moved to New York, I started eating everything and before I knew it, I had gained 35 pounds. That’s when my obsession with oatmeal began. I started eating it all the time and was looking for unique ways to jazz it up. It took me many, many years to bring this concept to life, but I was seeing the single-serve eatery trend happen and I just couldn’t understand how there wasn't an oatmeal-focused one, so I went to culinary school while I was working in investment banking.” -
Sizes and Flavors
"We offer a few size options — 'mama bear' is our most popular. We also offer both sweet and savory oatmeal options, ones that are healthy and some more decadent ones. My personal favorite is our Truffle RisOATto, which is made with shaved parmesan, truffle oil, sea salt and cracked black pepper. As far as our healthiest ones, they would include Pomegranate Pistachio (dried pomegranate seeds, pistachios, honey, almond milk) and Quatre Fruits Rouge (fresh strawberries and raspberries, dried currants and cherries, honey, almond milk)."
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Types of Oatmeal
“I recently teamed up with Quaker Oats. They discovered me and we’ve partnered up for a lot of exciting things, including recipes and online content. I use their oats as the base for the products we make here. We start with either water or skim milk-based oatmeal. It was important to me to be able to cater to vegans and people who are lactose intolerant.”
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Baked Goods
"Most baked goods have a white flour base, but here we try to avoid white flour. Everything we make has rolled oats and oat flour."
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Baking
"I get in by 6:00 a.m. and bake into the morning rush since we open at 7:00 a.m. Mornings and around lunchtime are our buzziest times. I think people like seeing me bake and put out fresh things as they're in line to order."
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Croque Monsieur Oatmeal
"Right now, I'm preparing the diced ham for the Croque Monsieur oatmeal one of our customers ordered. This one is made with diced ham, shaved gruyere cheese, nutmeg, sea salt, cracked black pepper and steamed milk."
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Toppings
"You can get creative and design your own concoction or pick from our menu. This is our Croque Monsieur and our Quatre Fruits Rouge. For something decadent, however, I love the Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, which is made with graham crackers, whipped ricotta, dulce de leche, drizzle cinnamon, brown sugar and whipped cream."
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Toppings
"There are endless topping options."
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Canisters
“I’ve been collecting these canisters for over a decade. I get most of them off of eBay and Etsy and I’ve got ones from all over — Japan, Greece, Israel…I always knew I wanted to open a store like this, so I just started packing them away!"
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Vintage Ads
“These are real vintage ads. They’re actually really funny when you read them because they’re so politically incorrect. One of them says if you eat more oats, you’re less likely to go to prison and more likely to go to college.”
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Kitchen
"This is our open kitchen. We do all the baking here. It's very small, but we make the most of the space and keep everything very organized."
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SoulCycle
“We did a SoulCyle-themed oatmeal bowl and anyone who buys one gets a free SoulCycle class — it’s a pretty amazing deal. We’re also going to be working with Physique 57. They’re all local businesses, so it’s nice to work together.”
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Press
"I've been really lucky not to have to hire a publicist. All of our press has come naturally. The Wall Street Journal was a big one for us, but we seem to be especially popular on Japanese food blogs!"
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Granola
“We sell house-made granola and I’m planning on introducing muesli this summer and will be packaging and selling that as well. I’m working toward a product line and I’ve had a lot of offers to do a cookbook; I’m also working on delivery and toying with a food truck idea — lots of things in the works!”
