Most Viewed Stories
The future of soda fountains comes to McAllen
Maelia Ramirez and Ralph Dougherty stand in front of red and white box as they face down more than 100 different drink options.
The box itself stands a bit shorter and stouter than a vending machine, with a single nozzle to dispense fluids. It has a touch screen for beverage selection. Ramirez, 20, and Dougherty, 21, stand in front of it with Styrofoam Wingstop cups in hand.
Ramirez bravely moves toward the box and presses the Minute Maid Lemonade button, forgoing the Sprite, Powerade, Coca-Cola and other options. A whole new menu jumps onto the screen. Now she can choose to keep the standard lemonade flavor, or tinge her drink with lime, strawberry or raspberry. She opts with raspberry and the box begins to dispense her drink.
“This is really cool,” Ramirez says afterward. “It has so many flavors. I think every place should have one of these.”
As she praises the machine, Dougherty opts for a cherry-flavored Coca-Cola. He also says he will tell his older brother about the machine, and he’s sure the unique beverage selection will make him come.
Ramirez and Dougherty lunch at the Wingstop on North 10th Street in McAllen. This location, and 10 others throughout the Rio Grande Valley, now feature these machines, which are called Coca-Cola Freestyle.
Nationwide, the machines are in more than 1,000 restaurants, movie theaters and college campuses. They’ve reached 60 markets in 33 different states since first being deployed in 2009, says Lisa Brooks, senior customer marketing manager for Coca Cola Refreshments.
The idea is to let soda drinkers customize their own beverage selections. She says the mechanics are simple. Each machine contains a set of very concentrated ingredients. They don’t take up a lot of space, but they add up to many different combinations.
The North 10th Street Wingstop installed the machine on July 26, and management says it has led to a boom in business. Some customers stop in specifically to try the new beverage machine with their wings.
For the first few weeks of use, general manager Esttela Vallego and supervisor assistant Nidia Saenz stood beside the machine helping customers learn to use it.
These days, they don’t have problems with diners learning to use it. However, the massive variety has cause a few issues.
“A lot of people line up, and they don’t know what to pick,” Saenz says.
But with more than 100 choices, chances are they’ll find something they like.
ONLINE: Learn more about the Coca-Cola Freestyle at http://www.coca-colafreestyle.com/ or find a Wingstop location near you at http://wingstop.com/rgv/.
Learn about some interesting flavor combos here.
Zack Quaintance covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4447.
