Xavier University will introduce the first pizza ATM in North America just as students are getting ready for fall classes, the Cincinnati Business Courier says.
The Cincinnati school teamed up with a French distributor to install the ATM, which holds 70 pizzas at once. The pizza count will be monitored in real time, and the ATM will offer sales if there’s an overstock.
Dining hall staff, who will prepare the pizzas by hand, each trained for over 40 hours with a French chef to learn the proper techniques. After prepped pizzas are placed in the ATM, the machine can preserve, cook and dispense each one in under three minutes, according to the distributor’s website.
The 12-inch pizzas will retail between $9 and $10, and the university expects to sell 300 a day. Quizzes on Twitter and Yik Yak, a social posting board popular with young adults, will provide the university with feedback about the machine.
In addition, Xavier University will holds sole rights to certify new North American operators of the pizza ATM, requiring other interested foodservice operations to train and obtain certification directly from Xavier.
The ATM will be open to the public on Aug. 10, followed by a grand opening in September.