We told you, a couple of years ago, about a robot Pizza kiosk developed by an Italian entrepreneur. The idea was to provide fresh-baked pies the way vending machines drop sandwiches. Any time, anywhere. Well, an adventurous start-up is preparing to introduce similar machines in the States…
A first-wave Basil Street APK: Will Automated Pizza Kitchens revolutionize the Pizza industry?
They call themselves Basil Street, and they’re betting the farm that their ‘Automated PizzaKitchens’ (APKs) will catch on with Pie lovers, and disrupt the conventional Pizza market. They’re actually referring to their concept as ‘The Future Of Pizza’.
What are APKs?
Automated Pizza Kitchens are designed to create, bake and deliver fresh, hot, 10-in. / 25 cm thin-crust Pies in 3 minutes. They sound like food court stalls on AI. Perfect for College campuses, malls and any kind of after-hours venue.
“Delicious pizza made from the finest ingredients is our obsession. Through the marriage of old-school pizzamaking tradition and today’s tech wizardry, we’ve unlocked a way to get you a supremely satisfying pizza experience in the time it takes to listen to your favorite song,” the Basil Street website declares. “Ready to taste how delicious the future can be? We hope so, because we’re coming to a location near you!”
The kiosks currently offer three standard pizzas: Pepperoni, Four Cheese and Supreme. They also have two ‘Pizzas Of The Month’; currently Buffalo Chicken and Breakfast.
The essence of the boast
“Our Automated Pizza Kitchen is built to bring you serious pizza-shop flavor with unparalleled convenience.
“When you try our pizza, you’ll think there’s a team of chefs in the kitchen, making dough and tomato sauce from scratch, and keeping watchful eyes on the oven for that ideal thin-crust texture and perfect melt on the four-cheese blend.
“But there are no hands on your pizza in our kitchen—this is a thing of precision, speed, and freedom.
“No matter where you are, you get the same transcendent, perfectly seasoned, cheesy, crispy, mouthwatering experience. Every single time, from every single Basil Street Pizza Kitchen, in about 3 minutes.”
The strategy
Basil Street deployed 5 initial APKs in California, Texas, North Carolina and Nevada earlier this year. The test was reportedly successful. So the company is preparing to deploy another 50 or so this fall across the U.S. That is, if they get the investment to support the move. They’re getting ready to issue stock, which is expected to come out at under $3 a share.
Noting that its test marketing program was successful in spite of being launched during the worst of the COVID-19 crisis (before vaccines were available), the company is confident that its concept will go viral.
Prices for the pies range between $4.95 and $14.95 depending on the toppings – definitely competitive with the big Pizza chains.
And their website features a bunch of enthusiastic accolades from ‘fans’. I assume they were gathered during the test-marketing period. To read the testimonials, you’d think the Basil Street APK was the best thing since… well… sliced Pepperoni.
My take
Basil Street talks the big talk. But can they deliver?
First, I wonder about the veracity of those fan testimonials. They seem to parrot the company’s claims and boasts pretty closely. But let’s give the ‘fans’ a free pass on that. I just wonder how many testimonials they had to sort through to come up with the 14 they’ve published.
Will they get the investment they seem to so desperately need to propel their kiosk invasion into its next phase? (They even have an ‘INVEST NOW” button right at the top of their web page.)
I also wonder how much time and effort it takes to service the APKs. They must require a LOT of cleaning and sanitation, and frequently. I also wonder about the replenishment of the edibles. As much as Basil Street promotes its dedication to the ‘finest’ ingredients, ‘domestically sourced’, they are vending previously made, frozen pies which are simply baked in the machine, boxed and ejected. I was a little disappointed to discover that; the original Pizza Kiosk developed in Italy actually builds pies from the crust up, applying individual ingredients according to the diner’s instructions.
I guess, if I was desperate enough for a Pizza, I’d try an APK. But I can’t remember an occasion on which I was that desperate. If the Pizza is really as good as Basil Street claims, would I go out of my way to get theirs, even if it was easier to just pull out my phone and order from one of the conventional Pie vendors for delivery?
And do I really hanker for a thin crust pie every time I think ‘Pizza’? That’s an issue on which many Americans apparently think differently than the majority of Canadians. But that’s a different story for another day.
Would you patronize an APK?
Muse on that…
~ Maggie J.