Pizza News

Pizza 'jukebox' with pizza made by robots to debut at Walmart in Frisco

Pizza made by robots: It's the future.

Pizza Jukebox

There's a new twist on pizza opening in Frisco: Pizza made by robots. Called the Pizza Jukebox, it's a new concept from Brix Holdings, which owns the Red Mango frozen yogurt chain, and it's opening inside the Walmart at 16066 TX-121.

This concept will feature an automated pizza-making robot, side-by-side with a Red Mango frozen yogurt stand. A release promises that customers can watch the Pizza Jukebox robot create pizza with "spectacle you'll have to see to believe."

The spectacle involves the sight of a robot making your pizza with a high-tech "pizza jukebox" that spins the pizza, assembles the toppings, and pops it in the oven, ba-da-bing ba-da-boom, one to three minutes later, pizza is ready to go.

Robot servers became a bit of a darling in the restaurant industry during the pandemic, inspiring wonder and delight, even if the actual service sometimes paled next to humans. Brix Holdings CEO Sherif Mityas says they're seizing some of that wonder and delight, but with better performance.

"We're seeing so much innovation with robots and Artificial Intelligence," Mityas says. "This is a robot that actually makes pizza with no human intervention."

They partnered with L2F, a California company who helped develop the technology, and have been testing it for the past few months.

"We're just having some fun," he says. "Everyone's used to having pizza delivered. But part of the fun of restaurants is going out. After the pandemic, people want a reason to come back out to restaurants, so we're trying this out with our friends at Walmart."

You can choose from a 16-inch pie or a 7-inch personal pizza. The crust is placed into a machine and spins - "like a record, that’s why it's called a jukebox," Mityas says. "It then puts whatever topping you've ordered, it slices the pepperoni, it's not pre-sliced."

The robot places the pizza in the oven, where it bakes almost instantly: 3-1/2 minutes for the 16-inch, and 1-1/2 mins for the 7-inch. "You can see your pizza made and listen to your song played on the jukebox while you wait," Mityas says.

Finally, a human steps in to place the pizza into a box, and ring up your order, and then you can get your Red Mango for dessert.

They're aiming to open in mid-June, when they'll share a full menu, and plan to follow with more locations in other Walmart stores.

“We’re so excited to launch such an innovative concept,” Mityas says. “You can’t just get this experience delivered, you must come to see and taste it to believe it. I think that was part of our motivation, to get people to come out to restaurants again."

Coffee News

New Dallas coffee shop opens with good coffee — and great hair

Common Good

Common Good coffee and good vibes

A new coffee shop with some serious styling has opened near downtown Dallas: Called Common Good, it's located at 1619 N. Hall St., right off Ross Avenue, in what was previously a retail outlet for Rakkasan Tea Company, who left the space in mid-2024.

Common Good is more than just a coffee shop – it's a coffee shop-hair salon from Christopher Bermudez, a stylist who previously owned Ellum Salon in Deep Ellum which he sold in 2022. Their motto: "Good coffee, good hair, good vibes."

Bermudez was born in Mexico City and moved to Dallas when he was one year old but remained close to his culture and often travels to Mexico City, where he found the inspiration behind this new concept.

"I was inspired by the multiuse spaces in my hometown of Mexico City: coffee shops that turn into a nightclub or tequila tasting rooms in the evening. Great vibe is what we are going for," he says.

The coffee shop is in the front, while the hair salon is in the back, divided by a large glass. The salon has eight stylists, including Bermudez.

The shop also features all-vinyl jam tables where guest DJs play music most weekends, creating a cool atmosphere. The décor resembles listening rooms that are popular in South Korea, with custom-made wooden walls and modern furniture.

Good vibes at Common Good Coffee and hair salonCommon Good

Heading the coffee operation is Jesse Nava, who recently worked at Xaman Coffee in Oak Cliff, and they're partnered with Lemma Coffee for beans and barista training. The shop offers a small but solid menu, with espresso and coffee classics, plus some specialty drinks including pistachio matcha, cardamon rose latte, espresso freddo, and a Mexican mocha.

“We want to stay consistent with a small menu — we want to get it right, then eventually add to it," Bermudez says.

They plan to add food, as well, working with a local bakery still to be decided for muffins, croissants, kolaches, cookies, and bagels.

They're open Tuesday-Saturday from 7 am-7 pm, with shorter hours Sunday and Monday, from 7 am-2 pm, since the salon portion is closed those days.

They've witnessed a big demand for coffee, since the center they're in had coffee history: The storefront on the corner at 1623 Hall St. was once Method Coffee, then Fiction Coffee, which closed at the end of 2023. (It's now home to Black Swan Saloon, the resuscitated bar from acclaimed mixologist Gabe Sanchez.)

They see themselves as a neighborhood coffee shop, where residents of the multiple apartment complexes around can become regulars. They are dog-friendly, serving pup cups.

"I always believed that if you have a good product people will come," Bermudez says.

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