LONDON -- You would have been forgiven for thinking we'd reached peak niche-hipster cafe when an eatery serving only cereal opened in London recently, but think again.
The world's first crisp sandwich shop, or potato chip sandwich shop if you're an American snack eater, opened Monday in Belfast and everything sold out within hours.
Simply Crispy offers the ultimate carb-on-carb meal (you can even get a side of fries!) with an abundant selection of crisp choices, including local favourites, like Tayto cheese and onion, and other contemporary offerings.
It was a rocky start for the new enterprise.
Morning guys. In typical Belfast fashion, we're still waiting on some stock being delivered. Hope to be open soon.— thatweecafe (@thatweecafe) January 12, 2015
But things were swiftly looking up.
Much love, guys xx we've sold out of everything now. I'll try and reply to all tonight. Thanks A xx— thatweecafe (@thatweecafe) January 12, 2015
The idea came about after the owner Andrew McMenamin, read a story on the parody news website The Ulster Fry about a crisp cafe opening in the city earlier this month. He turned the satire into reality transforming his existing cafe, The Wee Cafe, into the pop-up cafe, Simply Crispy.
"It is a school thing, people remember it from their school days, it is a classic and it is old-school," McMenamin told RTÉ News. "We are riding on the back of the publicity the cereal cafe got in London, if it helps us and Ulster Fry then it is a good thing."
From spoof to reality. Crisp sandwich cafe ACTUALLY opens in Belfast. (Like, for real!) http://t.co/49sim66PBt pic.twitter.com/2OX873u6kq— The Ulster Fry (@UlsterFryNI) January 9, 2015
Customers can select the bread and crisps they want, but so far the most popular item being ordered is a bap -- a soft, floury roll -- with cheese and onion-flavoured crisps as a filling.
#belfast bap with cheese and pickled onion space raiders for lunch from @thatweecafe #simplycrispy pic.twitter.com/DzapDl8i4D— maurice fitzmaurice (@mofitzmaurice) January 12, 2015
Niche cafes are quite the Belfast invention. Although the Cereal Killer Cafe opened on Brick Lane in Shoreditch, London, it was started by identical Belfast twin brothers.
BONUS: 5 Taylor Swift Songs That Are Actually About Sandwiches