News

&pizza 'Cubed' = 300 kiosk-cooked pies an hour

April 12, 2019

D.C.-based &pizza is plunging into the restaurant kiosk business next week when it opens what it called the industry's first "cube kiosk." The brand, which is rolling it out in Union Station in Washington D.C.,  has been working on the smaller business model over the past year as a template to better serve the brand's existing customers while growing its customer base. The kiosk location will serve as another format in the brand's arsenal to complement traditional shop expansion, according to an email from the company. 

The 300-square-foot kiosk features the brand's signature high-contrast, black-and-white design with a prominent ampersand and has an angular look of its own. It includes four easy-to-read menu screens and two guest wayfinding screens, directing consumers on how to place and pick up their orders from two separate lines. The cube, which incorporates ventless ovens without the need for a hood or exhaust system, can churn out 300 customizable and oblong-shaped pies per hour, according to the company.  

A key advantage of the &pizza cube is that it can go anywhere, allowing the brand to adjust needs, learning and optimizing logistics and operations along the way. The chain will roll out more cubes in transportation hubs, malls and other small-footprint opportunities in high-traffic areas over the coming year to expand their national presence, according to company.

Foregoing a formal grand opening, &pizza is using a test-and-learn approach in D.C.'s Union Station, which should allow it to be more tactical, scalable and laser-focused on creating best-in-class practices. It will test-and-learn first lines, second lines and then ultimately launch online ordering.

CEO Michael Lastoria was a guest featured on a recent QSRweb podcast two-part edition. Listen to it here.