Enjoying your favorite meal of the day has never been so easy, especially when it includes wandering through a refrigerator door.
A blue refrigerator door awaits guests at Hall of Breakfast, an art installation co-created by Sophie Weichers and John Connors. The exhibit is an interactive pop-up experience like no other, but why breakfast?
“We chose breakfast because we wanted to choose something that felt everyday,” Weichers said, “ … so we thought of breakfast because what’s more everyday than breakfast?”
Breakfast may be everyday, but your experience at Hall of Breakfast won’t be. This “interactive art museum,” as defined by Weichers, allowed me to touch and interact with the elements in each room. Most museums don’t allow you to touch, let alone play like you’re a child again.
You don’t have to be a child to enjoy this exhibit, which is what’s so great about it. There are so many cool things to do as an adult, I couldn’t even tell you which is my favorite. Not only can you slide down a bacon slide and swing on giant donuts, but you can also immerse yourself into a ball pit of 200,000 pink and white balls. Who wouldn’t want to do that?
To see each guest’s individual experience is what Weichers likes best. “I think my favorite part has been watching people interact with the elements,” Weichers said.
Interacting with the elements isn’t hard at Hall of Breakfast because every room gives you the opportunity. If you’re not as interested in participating in the exhibit physically, no need to worry. Weichers and Connors partnered with local artists to make the exhibit come to life visually. Toast pop art, wall murals, painted canvas and a beehive sculpture are some of the most engaging visual elements for visitors.
The beehive sculpture attracts visitors attention because of what it is made of — thousands of coffee beans. According to Weichers, it took three full days to put all of the beans onto the beehive. Not only did it take a lot of time, but there is close to a million coffee beans in the beehive room alone.
While coffee beans might not be part of the sample menu, you do get to eat breakfast treats as you stroll from room to room. I ate a delicious sample of ice cream, but the waffle and gummy egg candy samples are sure to be just as delightful.
Even more delightful, $20 is the most you will spend on a single ticket. While $20 is a fair and affordable price for most, it might not be if you’re on a budget. It might help to know Hall of Breakfast donates to Utah Food Bank with every ticket sold, a choice that made sense to Weichers.
“Partnering with the Food Bank gives this place heart, it gives us the opportunity to give back to the community again. When we were doing research on what kind of nonprofit we wanted to partner with to give back to … I came upon this article that said 11% of kids in Utah do not get meals in the summer because they are relying on the school system,” she said, “So we reached out to the Food Bank and we’re helping with their summer program to give those kids meals during the summer. … We’re themed around food and breakfast so partnering with them just made sense.”
Hall of Breakfast is a great experience which contributes to a great nonprofit organization. Unfortunately, it is a temporary exhibit, only open until July 9 in Salt Lake City. While there are around 20 time slots each day, they sell out quickly and chances are waiting will lead to disappointment. So hurry up and grab your advanced tickets online before it’s too late.
Hall of Breakfast is located at The Gateway shopping center in Salt Lake City.