|
 A 24-hour vending machine that dispenses gourmet cupcakes opened
for business this week on Manhattan's Upper East Side, and locals
are lining up despite the wintry temperatures for a taste.
"It's so fun," said Melissa Martelli, a schoolteacher and
neighborhood resident as she nibbled on a cinnamon sugar cupcake she
bought from the machine. "You could just go in the store and wait on
line, but it's just so cool."
Despite the Sprinkles cupcake store connected to the ATM, and the
city's abundance of all-night delis and convenience stores,
customers said the ATM has novelty appeal.
"It's the experience of buying a cupcake from an ATM. It's an
incredible concept," said Amy Benaderet, a financial services
account manager who lives nearby. "You can get money at any time.
Now you can get cupcakes at any time."
"It'll be interesting to see if the novelty wears off," she added.
At a price of $4.25 apiece, the cupcake choices include chocolate,
coconut, red velvet, vanilla and lemon meringue.
"It's cool, especially if you live around here and it's like the
middle of the night and you really want a cupcake. I would so do
that," said Margarita Mazur, who works at a local tech startup.
The nine-year-old company behind the machine, Sprinkles, also has
installed cupcake machines in Las Vegas, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta
and Beverly Hills, California, where the company is based, and plans
to expand into Houston and Washington, D.C.
[to top of second column] |
The New York model holds 760 cupcakes and sells up to four at a
time, making it larger than the company's other machines.
But not every New Yorker has caught the sugar buzz.
"I think it's stupid," said Anthony Campagne, who was waiting while
his tech company co-workers stood in line for their cupcakes. "It
just doesn't make sense. People don't need cupcakes at 3 in the
morning."
(Editing by Scott Malone and Andrew Hay)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
