JANUARY 19 • 2023 | 39

my credit (could be a debit) 
card, also displayed pictures 
of two types of warm cookies 
from vending partner Gold 
Mountain Cookies (“one of 
our top-selling items”), as well 
as garlic cheese bread and soft 
pretzels. 

Once an order is placed, the 
ZaBot goes to work. A label 
on the delivery box has a QR 
code matched to the customer’s 
desired item. The item is then 
pulled from its refrigerated 
holding slot.
The QR code also tells the 
robot how to cook the chosen 
item. Pizza is lifted onto its 
own tray and put into each of 
two ovens, getting an overall 
bake and a top broil. Other 
refrigerated items are cooked 
at their own optimal time and 
temperature. The finished pizza 
or snack item is placed in its 
box and dispensed through one 
of the robot’s two delivery slots. 
Depending on the type of food, 
each refrigerated item is good 
for three to five days before 
discarding.
It was exciting to anticipate 
the pepperoni and veggie pizzas 
I had ordered for my family. 
ZaBot displayed the digital time 
so I could see how soon before 
my order would be ready. I 
caught one pizza box when it 
flew out of the bottom delivery 
hatch; and a few moments later, 
I caught another box from the 
top slot. For fun, the boxes have 
outlines of pizza toppings that 

can be colored.
The thin-crust ZaBot pizzas 
and garlic bread are not pre-cut, 
but plastic knives for the pur-
pose are found in a bin near the 
machine. The 10-inch round 
pizzas are enough for one-two 
people. At home, I quartered 
the pie with my own metal 
pizza cutter and took a slice 
from each pie. My vegetarian 
daughter and meat-eating hus-
band got to eat three slices.
Both pizzas did their job, 
nicely filling our tummies. The 
pepperoni was properly crispy 
on the one. The veggie pizza 
was topped primarily with 
onion, mushrooms, banana 
peppers (which I do not like) 
and green pepper over mozza-
rella cheese and tomato sauce. 
I hope more choice in the veg-
gies is coming. The three of us 
judged these pizzas as either 
“good” or “kind of good.
”
It is reassuring to know 
that Tessler and company are 
continuing to “work on all our 
products, striving for constant 
improvement.
”

 For example, after customer 
feedback, ZaBot re-engineered 
its cheese pizza so that “it now 
is one of our highest-rated 
products.
” The team also is 
exploring different size pizzas 
and moving quickly toward 
offering more thick-crust 
“Detroit-style” pizzas. I would 
prefer that.

Sensing an unlimited poten-
tial for the pizza robots, the 
ZaBot partners intend to soon 
open a separate facility, away 
from Capri Pizza, to make its 
products.
“We have 10 locations (for 
ZaBots) that we will be rolling 
out in Metro Detroit,
” said 
Tessler, before announcing that 
the next machine will be avail-
able soon at the Ambassador 
Bridge’s duty-free store, 3400 W
. 
Fort St. in Detroit. The ZaBot 
company also has expansion 
plans for the Midwest and 
nationwide, starting later this 
year. 
“It is not out of the question 
that there could be 500-1,000 
ZaBots around the country 

within the next five years,
” he 
said. Possible placements could 
include airports, stadiums, 
shopping malls, office build-
ings, K-12 schools and college 
campuses, small retail spaces, 
public parks, gas stations, con-
venience stores — “anywhere 
with hungry people.
”
Always fond of pizza him-
self, Tessler said, “With all the 
testing and sampling we do, I 
probably eat pizza most days 
although it is usually just a bite 
or two. My kids enjoy Capri 
once a week and love visiting 
ZaBot as a special treat.
“We wanted to offer some-
thing that was relatable to all 
ages, especially kids, and I 
could not be happier with what 
we created.
” 

A Veggie 
Pizza
The 
Pepperoni 
Pizza

David Tessler 
Family: Wife, Meagan, daughter Harper, 7, and son 
Charlie, 4 
Education: Graduate of Groves High School in 
Beverly Hills 
Bar Mitzvah: Temple Emanu-El in Oak Park 
Career: An entrepreneur who has owned and 
operated several successful businesses in Metro 
Detroit, Tessler helped develop gift kiosks for 
casinos and was part of a company that built a full 
point-of-sale system for golf courses.

David 
Tessler

ZaBot Pizza 
Robot 
at Capri Pizza 
30735 Greenfield Road, 
Southfield 
Zabot.com 
A ZaBot Pizza App is 
coming soon

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER