Donatos Pizza has opened its first fully automated restaurant at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, offering travelers quick, hot pizzas made entirely by robots.
The new location, launched on June 9, is a collaboration between Donatos and Appetronix, a technology company focused on automating food service. Appetronix, formerly known as SJW Robotics, aims to solve staffing challenges in high-traffic areas like airports, hospitals, and college campuses.
“COVID exposed some realities in the restaurant business,” said Nipun Sharma, co-founder and CEO of Appetronix. “There is a labor shortage, especially in quick-service settings. Automation helps fill that gap.”
At the new Donatos location, customers can order pizza by scanning a QR code with their phone or using a digital kiosk. Once the order is placed and paid for, robotic systems prepare and cook the pizza on the spot.
For now, the menu includes only cheese and pepperoni pizzas—Donatos’ best-sellers. “Cheese and pepperoni account for the majority of sales,” Sharma said. “So we wanted to focus on our heavy hitters right now.”
Each pizza takes about two and a half minutes to cook. After baking, the robot slices, boxes, and places the pizza in a numbered locker. Customers then receive a code to unlock their locker and retrieve their order.
The fully automated pizzeria is located before the security checkpoint in Concourse B and operates 24 hours a day, providing round-the-clock service to travelers.
Founded in 1963, Donatos continues to expand its innovative approach to pizza service with this new technology-driven concept.
Donatos Pizza has opened its first fully automated restaurant at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, offering travelers quick, hot pizzas made entirely by robots.
The new location, launched on June 9, is a collaboration between Donatos and Appetronix, a technology company focused on automating food service. Appetronix, formerly known as SJW Robotics, aims to solve staffing challenges in high-traffic areas like airports, hospitals, and college campuses.
“COVID exposed some realities in the restaurant business,” said Nipun Sharma, co-founder and CEO of Appetronix. “There is a labor shortage, especially in quick-service settings. Automation helps fill that gap.”
At the new Donatos location, customers can order pizza by scanning a QR code with their phone or using a digital kiosk. Once the order is placed and paid for, robotic systems prepare and cook the pizza on the spot.
For now, the menu includes only cheese and pepperoni pizzas—Donatos’ best-sellers. “Cheese and pepperoni account for the majority of sales,” Sharma said. “So we wanted to focus on our heavy hitters right now.”
Each pizza takes about two and a half minutes to cook. After baking, the robot slices, boxes, and places the pizza in a numbered locker. Customers then receive a code to unlock their locker and retrieve their order.
The fully automated pizzeria is located before the security checkpoint in Concourse B and operates 24 hours a day, providing round-the-clock service to travelers.
Founded in 1963, Donatos continues to expand its innovative approach to pizza service with this new technology-driven concept.
Donatos Pizza has opened its first fully automated restaurant at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, offering travelers quick, hot pizzas made entirely by robots.
The new location, launched on June 9, is a collaboration between Donatos and Appetronix, a technology company focused on automating food service. Appetronix, formerly known as SJW Robotics, aims to solve staffing challenges in high-traffic areas like airports, hospitals, and college campuses.
“COVID exposed some realities in the restaurant business,” said Nipun Sharma, co-founder and CEO of Appetronix. “There is a labor shortage, especially in quick-service settings. Automation helps fill that gap.”
At the new Donatos location, customers can order pizza by scanning a QR code with their phone or using a digital kiosk. Once the order is placed and paid for, robotic systems prepare and cook the pizza on the spot.
For now, the menu includes only cheese and pepperoni pizzas—Donatos’ best-sellers. “Cheese and pepperoni account for the majority of sales,” Sharma said. “So we wanted to focus on our heavy hitters right now.”
Each pizza takes about two and a half minutes to cook. After baking, the robot slices, boxes, and places the pizza in a numbered locker. Customers then receive a code to unlock their locker and retrieve their order.
The fully automated pizzeria is located before the security checkpoint in Concourse B and operates 24 hours a day, providing round-the-clock service to travelers.
Founded in 1963, Donatos continues to expand its innovative approach to pizza service with this new technology-driven concept.
