New vending machine dispenses fresh pasta in San Francisco

By Loureen Ayyoub

When most people walk up to a vending machine, they expect to find sodas, chips or candy bars. But at a new kiosk in San Francisco, customers are met with something different: fresh pasta.

Chef Anthony Strong, owner of Pasta Supply Co., spent Monday restocking his latest project, a vending machine filled with freshly made pastas and sauces prepared at his flagship restaurant in the Mission District.

“So our most popular pasta by far is mafaldine,” Strong said, as he loaded containers into the machine.

Strong says the idea came from wanting to make his restaurant’s ingredients more accessible, even for people who have never visited in person.

The pasta and sauces are produced daily at the shop, then packaged and delivered to the vending machine for customers to take home and cook in minutes.

“I was like, hah, maybe we could actually just open tiny little versions of our pasta shop, selling fresh pastas and sauces, and you know, easy things for dinners at home,” he said.

From mafaldine to rigatoni, Strong said he hopes the machines can help busy workers avoid the nightly scramble for dinner.

“If they’re leaving work and they’re like, ah shoot, I didn’t make a plan for tonight, what am I going to do, we just wanted to be another option so people didn’t have to make an extra stop at a grocery store or go online and order a 40 dollar salad delivered on an app, or anything like that,” he said.

Customers appear curious and hungry. As Strong replenished the machine, David Pincus walked up and inspected the offerings.

“I haven’t seen a vending machine for homemade pasta before, so I hope it works out,” Pincus said. When asked what he chose, he replied, “I got meatballs, bucatini and chocolate panna cotta.”

Strong isn’t Italian, but he credits his early start in the restaurant world at age 15 for setting his path.

“Pasta found me,” he said with a laugh.

With two restaurants already open in San Francisco and more vending machines in development, Strong says his mission is simple: make fresh, approachable meals available to everyone, especially after a long day.

“Getting people, you know, approachable, affordable meals out, and approachable and affordable ingredients for meals at home.”