A New Self-Order Kiosk for Cakes is a First for the Grocery Industry3 min read

For the past 54 years, since its first store opened in 1958 in Elmwood Park, Illinois, Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets has been owned and operated by the Caputo family. Today, the independent retailer has six stores in the state – from Elgin to Naperville, while the flagship remains in Elmwood Park. But, it is the Addison store that made headlines last month with what is believed to be the first self-order kiosk in the grocery industry exclusively for ordering cakes.

With an indoor Farmer’s Market that offers close to 500 varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables, it’s no surprise that Angelo Caputo’s won the Daily Herald’s 2011 Readers Choice Award for the “Best Place to Buy Produce” in the metropolitan Chicago area. But new customers are surprised to find that the market also offers over 500 varieties of olive oil “in every size, shape, brand, and type available,” an equivalent selection of pasta choices, and an impressive selection of imported specialty items, or to learn that the Caputo World Famous Deli is not just world famous; it is deeply engrained in local legend. Stories are recounted time-and-again at weddings of how the “bride and groom first met while both [were] reaching for a number at the Caputo World Famous Deli counter.” Like most legends, however, such stories belong to a bygone era; today, there is no need for customers to take a number and stand in line at the deli counter – the deli department in each of Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets is equipped with a self-order kiosk.

Now, La Bella Romana Bakery and Cucina, the bakery in Angelo Caputo’s, is trialing a self-order kiosk of its own at the Addison location. While bakery customers still need to stand in line to pick up a fresh loaf of Italian or French bread or to make a selection from the bakery’s award-winning pastries, they can place custom orders for cakes at the new cake-ordering kiosk.  Shoppers can select from a wide variety of cake types, fillings, frostings, toppings, and decorations; they also enter their contact information so the bakery can reach them if the need arises. Kiosk orders are automatically sent to both in-store bakery staff and the off-site bakery.

Angelo Caputo’s CEO, Robertino Presta, says customers have embraced the self-service option in the deli and the company expects the same will be true of the new self-order kiosk at La Bella Romana Bakery and Cucina, which is making grocery history, while helping Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets make its stores “as convenient and pleasant as possible to shop.” (Don’t miss yesterday’s blog post, to see how “An iPad Kiosk at Brookhaven Marketplace Makes Food Shopping Convenient.”)

Disclaimer: This is an independent report sourced from one or more news articles and or press releases; none of the company’s, entities or technologies digressed in this report are affiliated with or a client of Open.

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