Chick-fil-A tests vending machine at Augusta hospital
Chick-fil-A is trying out a new way to “eat mor chikin” — through a 24-hour vending machine in Augusta.
The College Park-based chicken chain is running “a short-term test” of what it called a “temperature-controlled market fridge,” a company spokesperson said Thursday.
It’s at the Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia, about 150 miles from downtown Atlanta. And just like Chick-fil-A restaurants, this machine shuts down on Sundays.
The Augusta Chronicle first reported the news with a video showing how it works.
The market fridge offers Chick-fil-A’s “Cool Wrap,” a flatbread filled with grilled chicken, lettuce and cheeses, and its “Southwest Veggie Wrap,” its zesty vegetarian version.
The machine also sells two flavors of waffle potato chips.
The Chick-fil-A spokesperson said it “seeks to provide a convenient option for hospital employees and visitors on the go,” as well as provide another way to “meet customers where they are, like late at night when other food options may not be available.”
The market fridge is replenished by local team members from a nearby Chick-fil-A on the hospital campus and accepts credit card payment only, the spokesperson added.
Chick-fil-A has experimented with other food delivery methods. In 2022, the company began a pilot program to test autonomous delivery robots at some restaurants across the Southeast. That program ended in fall 2024.
Other restaurant companies have gone into fresh food vending.
More than a decade ago, Sprinkles Cupcakes opened a location at Buckhead’s Lenox Square with a cupcake ATM, a novelty for mall goers at the time. It later closed to make way for an Apple store.
More recently, Toronto-based PizzaForno brought its pizza vending machine to the Atlanta area.
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