Pizzeria without people opened at US airport - robots cook food

Donatos Pizza has opened the first fully autonomous robot-operated restaurant at John Glenn International Airport in Columbus. The establishment is located in front of the entrance to security area B and operates under the control of the service company HMS Host. Donatos announced this in May 2025.

Donatos and its subsidiary Agápe Automation have partnered with robot manufacturer Appetronix to implement the robotic restaurant project. The fully automated pizzeria offers a quick, bespoke pizza without human input.

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Фото: Appetronix

Donatos President and CEO Kevin King stressed that this is not just adding technology to the restaurant, but a full-fledged standalone project. The company intends to maintain the high quality of pizza and customer service that Donatos has always been famous for.

The autonomous restaurant operates 24/7. The institution uses modern robotics and data processing technologies. This ensures efficiency at all stages - from placing an order to receiving a finished pizza.

Visitors can watch the process of making their pizza in real time through special windows. Customers see robots roll out dough, apply sauce, add filling and send pizza to the oven.

Kevin King noted that in a busy airport, where customers rush to flights, this "vending machine" format will be a huge success. Passengers will be able to get hot pizza quickly without queues or waiting.

Nipun Sharma, co-founder and CEO of food tech company Appetronix, called the collaboration "a defining moment for the future of the restaurant industry." He stated that their robots based on artificial intelligence can cook hot fresh pizza with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency.^[1]

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