With the launch of an automated pizza vending machine in downtown Silver Spring, Pizza Forno President and Co-founder Les Tomlin is banking on the fact that the availability of a fresh-baked pie at any time—even the middle of the night– will be a big draw to customers.
“Pizza is a $55 billion a year business in North America, so why not offer it so conveniently 24/7 to all those markets where pizza might not be available, and in places where it might not be available 24/7?” Tomlin said. “That’s what landed me in that pizza space. I just know the success of being innovative in the space will be huge.”
On Friday, the Toronto-based Pizza Forno will hold a grand opening celebration from 4 to 7 p.m. at the first Maryland location for its new pizza vending machine. The box-like structure, which has been open since February, sits in front of the Arrive apartment complex at 8750 Georgia Ave. The celebration includes free pizzas, music and giveaways, such as free pizza for a year.
According to Tomlin, the vending machine stores 70 12-inch pizzas, with varieties including cheese, pepperoni, BBQ chicken, four-cheese blend, Hawaiian, meat lovers and vegetarian.
When a customer places an order on the large touchscreen inside the structure, a robotic arm moves the pizza from a refrigerated area to a patented convection oven where it bakes for three to four minutes.
Then the pizza slides through a slot at the front of the machine and it’s ready to go, Tomlin said. Cheese pizzas cost $9.99 and those with toppings range from $12 to $13.
Tomlin said the technology for the vending machine was first created by a company in France about 18 years ago and the machines were all over France and Spain.
Tomlin and his business partner Will Moyer traveled to France five years ago to learn about the machine from the technology company. By 2021, Pizza Forno was operating its own pizza vending machines throughout Canada.
“We were just wowed by how this 65-square-foot robotic pizza machine was serving this great fresh-baked pizza in three or four minutes,” Tomlin said.
At the beginning of 2023, Pizza Forno expanded to the U.S., opening in places including New Orleans, San Antonio, Houston and Atlanta. Earlier this month, the company opened its first Mexico location, Tomlin said.
Tomlin said he worked closely with the culinary team from France to develop several pizza varieties that are now available from Pizza Forno’s U.S. locations.
“The pizza production is all centralized at a facility in Chicago, so the pizza is all locally produced, flash frozen and delivered to all of our franchisees or licensees,” Tomlin said.
The downtown Silver Spring vending machine is operated by A.J. Grillo, who said he will be stocking the machine. He has been working in the restaurant industry for 16 years, most recently as the general manager of Big Buns, a burger joint in Arlington, where he lives.
“The innovativeness was why I wanted to get onto it, and I love pizza,” Grillo said. “The convenience and accessibility are huge.”