Introducing Philly’s first pastry ATM, from one of the city’s best gluten-free bakeries

Since the demise of Horn & Hardart automats in the 1990s, Philadelphia has been light on food vending machines — until this year. First came Perrystead Dairy’s 24/7 cheese “dispensary,” full of award-winning wheels plus charcuterie, jam, and crackers. Last week marked the debut of South Philadelphia’s own pastry ATM, vending frozen croissants, bagels, pop-tarts, and more seven days a week inside Italian Market food/drink/gift boutique Salt & Vinegar, at 905 S. Ninth St.

The pastry ATM comes courtesy of Manayunk’s Flakely, one of the best gluten-free bakeries in the region, according to Inquirer critic Craig LaBan. (LaBan recently heaped praise on pastry chef and owner Lila Colello’s beautifully laminated croissants and chewy bagels — his favorite in Philly — in The Inquirer’s gluten-free guide.)

Last week, the ATM was stocked with plain, chocolate, and spinach-and-cheese croissants; plain, sesame, and everything bagels; lemon-cheesecake danish; strawberry jam-filled pop-tarts; and chocolate chip muffins. Prices range from $6.50 for a muffin to $14.89 for a three-pack of croissants. Once you pay, the credit card-enabled smart freezer opens and you can choose your goods, which are all prepared, parbaked, and frozen at Flakely’s Krams Avenue production space.

“[Freezing] actually locks in the freshness,” Colello says of the parbaked goods. Heating instructions are printed on Flakely’s packaging.

Colello says the machine expands the bakery’s reach without overextending its limited resources. While she and her two employees bake five days a week — providing pastries and breads for vendors like Kismet Bagels and Sweet Amalia Market & Kitchen — they only have the bandwidth to offer retail sales on Thursdays and Saturdays, for just a few hours each day. Finding the funding or staffing to do more has been a challenge since Colello opened Flakely during the pandemic in 2021.

A vending machine allows Flakely to sell straight to consumers without adding to the bakery’s overhead. It’s an idea Colello came around to last year. “It’s a huge trend everywhere else in the world,” she says. “It seems like in Amsterdam and especially in Japan, they have the wildest of vending machines, where they can cook something right in the machine.” (Her ultimate goal is to acquire a machine that can cook parbaked goods to completion.)

Unlike Perrystead’s cheese vending machine, which lives in a booth outside the creamery, Flakely’s ATM is based miles away. “My vision was that it’d be in someone else’s space, to be a safe space for [the machine] but also to uplift that business,” Colello says. “It’s kind of a win-win situation.”

Salt & Vinegar, owned by Edible Philly publisher Jen Honovic Herczeg, was already a wholesale client when Colello pitched Herczeg on the idea. Salt & Vinegar recently moved to a larger space, so it had room for the machine amid its selection of other locally made pantry staples, snacks, beverages, and gifts. Herczeg says she was on board immediately — Flakely’s products were already top sellers but she only had so much freezer space to allot them.

“Having Flakely in their own special spot allows us to offer our customers more choices and creates a fun, unique shopping experience. It also allows Flakely to retain more control and flexibility with their assortment and pricing,” Herczeg says, reporting the ATM has already brought in new customers to Salt & Vinegar. “It’s truly a win-win-win partnership and that is what makes small businesses successful and sustainable!”

If all goes well with the first ATM, Colello plans to install more in the future. She’s targeting the Main Line next.

For South Philly, the arrival of Flakely’s pastry ATM is fortuitous, if bittersweet. It debuted just as Taffets Bakery — a revered gluten-free establishment just steps from Salt & Vinegar — announced it will close on June 29, after its landlord asked it to vacate following an apartment fire upstairs last fall.

“They were the O.G.,” Colello says. Owner Omer Taffet launched a fundraiser in hopes of leasing a new space and keeping staff afloat.

Even as Taffets looks for another home to bake up its crusty gluten-free loaves, South Philadelphians will have their bread needs covered: Colello plans to make room in the ATM for Flakely’s shortie hoagie rolls and brioche buns soon.