Texas will get its first location of Vapiano sometime in April. The “German-born-fresh-casual” chain, will occupy the anchor space in the development alongside Central Expressway and across from West Elm. The press release promises an “innovative European concept of made-to-order fire roasted pizzas; fresh, house-made pasta; and hand-tossed gourmet salads” with “a fun twist to the North Texas “foodie” scene.” Lord knows, people we could all use any kind of twist.
Here is Vapiano’s: a chip card which is an “ordering and payment system that creates a unique and convenient experience for customers. The card, embedded with a “smart chip,” allows customers to move to the various fresh pizza, pasta or salad stations ordering what they like. Once the dish is prepared, the customer waves their chip card on the POS machine and the “Vapianisti” inputs what he or she has prepared. At the end of the dining experience, they simply hand their card to the hostess and pay before leaving.”
Vapianisti? Is that like a Kashisti? ‘Memba that crazy dude on Law & Order SVU (Hi, El!) who went nutso cuz he kept hearing Kashisties running around in his head? I’ll ask Tim McCallum, the former Rockwall city councilman who is Vapiano’s franchise owner. Betcha he knows.