Every now and then, a pizza meme that Slice has already blogged rears its head on the Intarweb and forces us to do a "Reheat" in response to a copious amount of reader tips. Such is the case with the WonderPizza machine. We originally ran the following entry way back in, oh, February 2004. And then again in September 2005. And here it is again for all those who might have missed it the first two times around. Thanks to everyone who emailed us the link! — The Mgmt.
Horn & Hardart's Automat | Berenice Abbott
Proving the Japanese aren't the only innovators in the vending-machine racket is Italian vendo-maker WonderPizza. This company's machines bake and dispense pizza in less than two minutes.
The machine can store up to 102 pizzas, for 30 days, in a refrigerated unit. When a customer buys one, a mechanical arm removes it from its package and puts it into the oven section, where it is flashbaked. It's then sliced and delivered to the customer. Cost: $5.
According to the Brown Daily Herald's story, "[Wonder Pizza USA sales rep Jay] Conway said WonderPizza vending machines fit well into the college environment because they make pizza available faster than delivery, 24 hours a day, and decrease labor and product costs for universities."
But not all Brown students are convinced:
"It's an interesting concept, but the thought of instant pizza is kind of nasty," said David Hirschfeld '06.
"I do think that lots of drunk and high kids will buy it, which means it's a good business venture and will be successful in the dorms," he said.
That said, we at Slice are guardedly skeptical. The best pies are made with fresh ingredients and a great measure of human pride. This machine contains neither. At this point, we see it as a novelty and will try it simply to witness the ingenuity of our Italian amici in action.
*What does the photo at top have to do with the WonderPizza machine? Not much, really. It is a distant forebear to the vendos of today, but we just thought it was a neat piece of NYC history and better lead art than the WonderPizza. [Thanks to Seltzerboy for spotting this story.]
You wrote: "we just thought it was a neat piece of NYC history" ummmmm, don't you mean, a neat SLICE of NYC history? i didn't overlook the fact that your pic is of the PIE section of the Automat. OK, OK, not the same kind of pie, but pie nonetheless.
Talley Sue: Good to see you in the comments of Slice! Har, har, har. I should have written "slice of history." And the photo is "borrowed," so I had no control over which section of the Automat it came from, but it was a nice coincidence, no? —The Mgmt.
This machine doesn't work properly. It is full of bugs and the maker in Italy refuses to fix the machine. Whoever posted this originally should do some actual research. Check on the viability of the company in MA. Check on how many machines are working in the US, let alone the world. This thing is a $25k piece of junk!
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Proving the Japanese aren't the only innovators in the vending-machine racket is Italian vendo-maker WonderPizza. This company's machines bake and dispense pizza in less than two minutes. 
According to the Brown Daily Herald's story, "[Wonder Pizza USA sales rep Jay] Conway said WonderPizza vending machines fit well into the college environment because they make pizza available faster than delivery, 24 hours a day, and decrease labor and product costs for universities." 
3 Comments:
You wrote: "we just thought it was a neat piece of NYC history" ummmmm, don't you mean, a neat SLICE of NYC history? i didn't overlook the fact that your pic is of the PIE section of the Automat. OK, OK, not the same kind of pie, but pie nonetheless.
Slice Talley Sue at 6:48PM on 03/08/07
Talley Sue: Good to see you in the comments of Slice! Har, har, har. I should have written "slice of history." And the photo is "borrowed," so I had no control over which section of the Automat it came from, but it was a nice coincidence, no? —The Mgmt.
Adam Kuban at 7:17PM on 03/08/07
This machine doesn't work properly. It is full of bugs and the maker in Italy refuses to fix the machine. Whoever posted this originally should do some actual research. Check on the viability of the company in MA. Check on how many machines are working in the US, let alone the world. This thing is a $25k piece of junk!
Slice WP Truth at 10:25PM on 04/01/07