ST. LOUIS — Hungry travelers passing through St. Louis Lambert International Airport have a new fast food option where they can grab hot and fresh food without having to interact with other humans.
St. Louis-based pizza and salad chain Crushed Red has expanded with a self-serving pizza kiosk that's the first of its kind in St. Louis. Located in Terminal 2, "Crushed Red Buy & Fly" offers a selection of crafted salads and folded flats in a grab-and-go cooler as well as hot, artisan pizza from a vending machine.
The vending machine uses "touchscreen technology and a self-contained oven that delivers piping hot Crushed Red pizzas on demand in 3 minutes," a release from the pizza chain said.
The machine also offers a trio of hot chocolate chip cookies.
"It's a truly unique invention that delivers a high-quality result," Crushed Red founder Chris LaRocca said in a statement.
The machine was custom-built and wrapped in Europe and traveled across the Atlantic Ocean on a container ship. It was then placed on a train to Chicago, where it was misplaced. After the transport company located the kiosk again, it was placed on a truck and dropped off at the Crushed Red location in Chesterfield for testing, according to the release.
"This project has been over a year in the making," LaRocca said in a statement, "and I'm just glad it made the trip in one piece."
The pizza kiosk made its debut at Lambert Airport on March 13.
To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV or the Apple TV App Store.
