Startups
Food and drink / Makerspaces

There’s an ice cream vending machine inside NextFab

It sells pints, cups and ice cream sandwiches(!) from a local purveyor, Zsa's.

The Zsa's Ice Cream vending machine at NextFab. (Photo via Foobooz)

Makerspace NextFab has a vending machine that’s actually not depressing.*
It sells ice cream.
The founder of Zsa’s Ice Cream, former industrial designer Parker Whitmore, bought the machine on eBay, according to a Foobooz report. Anyone can walk into NextFab’s Washington Avenue location and get a pint or an ice cream sandwich.
Seems like a fun way to create community around the makerspace (ice cream vending machine > water cooler), similar to NextFab’s in-house Mexican eatery, Cafe Ynez. (There’s also Kermit’s Bake Shoppe, across the street from NextFab.)
The University City Science Center has done the same thing on Market Street, developing cafes and restaurants around its labs and event spaces.

*Our other favorite non-depressing vending machine sells books by local authors.

Companies: NextFab

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