NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – It’s Miller time.
That’s time for New Orleans entrepreneur Miller Engelhardt to take stock.
And to stock up his one-of-a-kind wonder of a machine.
It’s a vending machine.
But WGNO Good Morning New Orleans features reporter Bill Wood says don’t count on a candy bar or can of something cold to drink to slide out.
Miller Engelhardt says, “this is creativity meets culinary.”
It’s a vending machine that delivers pizza.
Made fresh.
Then baked.
Then delivered in three minutes or less.
For as little as $11, you get a few slices of life.
It’s a pizza parlor inside a contraption that comes from France.
It’s called PizzaForno.
Forno means oven in Italian.
It’s about the size of a U-Haul truck.
It’s parked and taking a test drive outside a dormitory at the University of New Orleans.
It’s a pizza parlor run by a robot.
That means the persistent problem of today’s labor shortage is now, no problem.
Miller Englehardt says, “it’s the employee of the week, the month, the future.”
Bill Wood says, “the robot never calls in sick, shows up late, racks up a ton of overtime.”
It’s like an all-night diner that delivers 24/7.
It’s an ATM.
And you never need to tip.
Because as University of New Orleans student Ryan Lesnak says, “a penny saved is a penny for another slice of pizza.”
When what comes out of a vending machine hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s more than amore.
As UNO student Brooke Hanley says, “that’s amazing!”