Robots made me Donatos pizza — and it tasted great
Dining the news: The fully autonomous restaurant is a first for the locally founded chain, cooking a 10-inch pizza in just over 10 minutes.
It opened two weeks ago to national attention and the hype hasn't died down. I saw several travelers gawking and snapping videos.
What they're saying: "A computer makes your pizza?" quipped one puzzled passerby.
"Did you try the robot pizza?!" another asked me with an excited smile.
How it works: Scan a QR code to place an order (currently just cheese or pepperoni).
A robotic arm pulls pre-rolled dough out of a refrigerator and sends it through machinery to layer on sauce and toppings.
It even shakes Parmesan on top before sending it through the oven on a conveyor belt.
When it's done cooking, another robot places the pizza into a cutting machine, then slides it off the pan and into a cardboard box.
You retrieve it inside a pickup area that's unlocked with a unique code.
💭 My thought bubble: To my surprise, the pizza was the perfect temperature. It tasted just as good, if not better, than ones I've picked up from local Donatos restaurants.
Novelty aside, I'm just happy our airport finally has a filling late-night food option for us red eye travelers.
Yes, but: A human employee still must occasionally stock and clean the robot restaurant, which can take a little while.
Stop by: Open 24/7 at John Glenn International Airport, just before security in Concourse B.
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