Noted on Retail Automation August 2021
Brooklyn Dumpling Shop Delivers automat dining to Dallas
Click for full-size image — Dumpling Automat
In Brief:
- Combination of automatic self-service ordering + lockers (temp controlled)
- Couple of kiosks + wall of lockers
- Vimeo Video of process
- Franchise opportunities
- Very nice press coverage
- Wonderful history of the automat
- Food looks great!
- Please come to Denver!
Excerpt:
If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, automats were vending machine-style restaurants that served cafeteria-style food throughout the early 1900s. Fast food innovation and inflation eventually made the practice impractical. What was once a popular and modern style of dining eventually all but died off.
But as the pandemic changed our appetite for indoor, contact-heavy dining, the possibilities for a once-outdated concept reemerged. Brooklyn Dumpling Shop only debuted in New York’s East Village in May 2021, but the brand has already signed franchise deals for locations throughout New York, Florida, Texas and more.
“It’s an incomparable brand — the reimagination of the automat concept is enough to get people in the door, but the high-quality and uniqueness of the dumplings is what keeps customers coming back every time,” says Dan Rowe, CEO of Fransmart, Brooklyn Dumpling Shop’s franchise development partner.
How does it work?
Brooklyn Dumpling Shop’s contactless ordering system uses temperature-controlled food lockers to offer guests a pretty efficient contactless pickup option. First, you order ahead online or at a kiosk in real-time.
Once an order is ready, it’s inserted into one of the lockers. Customers are notified and can then scan their phones and pick up their food. Seems easy enough.
automat dumpling dallas