38 | JANUARY 19 • 2023

I

t’s 3 a.m. and you’re hungry,
but all the restaurants are
closed, and you don’t want to
cook. No, you’re not out of luck.
A new local option can give
you a fresh, hot pizza and treats
within 3-4 minutes — surely,
the definition of quick and easy.
ZaBot Pizza Robot is avail-
able 24/7 in the parking lot of
Southfield-based Capri Pizza.
While the machine may strike
some as odd, most users seem
to agree with company CEO
David Tessler that it’s actually
a genius idea. He and busi-
ness partner Paul Chambers
launched ZaBot in early
October and plan to offer many
more.
The partners bought Capri,
an independent New York-style
pizzeria serving beer and wine,
at the beginning of the COVID
pandemic in 2020. Capri’s sec-
ond owner since it started in
1960 was looking to retire after
25 years. Tessler, 40, of Beverly
Hills said he wanted to own
Capri “to preserve the recipes I
love and keep it from becoming
just another pizza chain.
”
A labor shortage proved to

be a challenge for the busi-
nessmen. Seeking to automate
the kitchen, they became
interested in purchasing robot-
ic equipment after learning
online about pizza-dispensing
machines in Europe. It was an
intriguing concept that hadn’t
caught on yet in the United
States.
Research revealed that Pizza
Robotics is a cloud-connected
platform that combines robotics
and machine learning, allowing
restaurants to operate autono-
mously. An example of a robot
operating at full capacity stated
that it can deliver customized
pizzas in five minutes (or less),
make 10 pizzas at the same
time and allow one pizza to be
dispensed every 47 seconds.
A robot can cost upwards of
$100,000.
Tessler said, “We fell in love
with the design of the machine”

they imported to become their
first ZaBot.
The machine’s most import-
ant feature is that it uses two
built-in pizza deck ovens. “Most
pizza machines on the market
use microwave or convection
technology, which we felt com-
promised the quality of the
product.
”
According to the ZaBot web-
site: “The two pizza ovens cook
your pizza on the bottom and
top, so you get perfect crust,
tantalizing cheese and your
choice of toppings — all in as
little as three minutes.
”
A group of chefs and con-
sultants, including existing
Capri Pizza staff, spent more
than eight months developing
and testing the ZaBot recipes.
A third partner in the ZaBot
company, formerly retired Ray
Friedrich, brought 35 years of
experience in the vending and

corporate food service industry.
I decided to try ZaBot in
November. After parking in
Capri’s lot, I approached the
large touchscreen on one side
of a tall, cheerily decorated
orange metal box. Touching
the screen brought up the food
options, including three styles
of pizza: Pepperoni, Cheese
and Veggie. “Meat Lovers” and
“Capri Hawaiian-style” are
newer options that might be
stocked.

“We have some cool ones —
like a breakfast pizza, Coney
dog pizza and bean burrito
pizza — that will be featured
periodically in the ZaBots,
”
Tessler said. “We are having a
lot of fun with the development
process and plan to continue to
innovate new and exciting food
offerings.
”

The screen I touched, before
ordering what I wanted with

ZaBot Pizza

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

NOSH
DINING AROUND THE D
The ZaBot
Pizza Robot

Esther Allweiss Ingber
receives her finished
pizza from the machine.

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER