You can find just about anything at a Walmart, and, pretty soon, that will include pizza-making robots—at least at a store in Frisco, Texas.
Pizza Jukebox, a fully automated pizzeria concept from Dallas-based Brix Holdings, will be located inside the Walmart store at 16066 Texas 121. It will be co-branded with local frozen yogurt spot Red Mango, also owned by Brix Holdings. Guests can watch a huge robotic arm make their pies, then step over to Red Mango for some froyo, smoothies, power bowls and juices.
“We’re so excited to launch such an innovative concept,” BRIX Holdings CEO Sherif Mityas said in a press release. “You can’t just get this experience delivered, you must come to see and taste it to believe it. Our goal is to offer a unique and memorable atmosphere that caters to all palettes, and we’re confident that we will be a hit in Frisco and beyond.”
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According to Dallas.Culturemap.com, the robot slices pepperoni, sauces the pizza, adds the cheese and toppings and places the pie in the oven, which bakes it in one to three minutes. Called the Pizzabot, it was developed by L2F, a Middleby company, as a labor-efficient solution to pizza-making that eliminates ingredient waste and provides consistency with every pie.
“We’re seeing so much innovation with robots and artificial intelligence,” Mityas told Dallas.Culturemap. “This is a robot that actually makes pizza with no human intervention.”
He added, “We’re just having some fun. Everyone’s used to having pizza delivered. But part of the fun of restaurants is going out. After the pandemic, people want a reason to come back out to restaurants, so we’re trying this out with our friends at Walmart.”
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In addition to owning Red Mango, Brix Holdings is also the parent company of RedBrick Pizza, which has locations in Destin, Florida, Laughlin, Nevada, and Louisville, Kentucky.
“Future plans for this collaboration could include pizza-making robots being placed in a number of Walmart stores,” Brix Holdings said in the press release.
The Frisco concept is currently under construction. Dallas.Culturemap says it’s scheduled to open in mid-June.
