Stellar Pizza
Los Angeles, California
Concept:
Stellar Pizza is a new, next-generation pizza company powered by automated, mobile restaurants. The robotic pizza vehicle can cook a touch-free pizza from start to finish in less than five minutes. The technology fits on the back of a truck, which allows end-to-end mobile pizza cooking for delivery to customers. Using only the finest ingredients available is an unwavering priority to ensure Stellar Pizza produces delicious pizza for our customers. The cost savings through mobile automation allows us to sell pizzas at an affordable price, while delivering a stellar experience that is both fast and consistent.
Pizza & Dough:
Stellar Pizza offers a 12-inch thin-crust dough paired with an in-house sauce and some of the most classic of pizza toppings. The dough is made in-house, combining strong American wheat that gives it a signature “chew” with softer wheat that provides a light, airy texture. The dough is fermented over a few days for heightened complexity and flavor.
How was this advanced technology developed?
I worked with my co-founders, James Wahawisan and Brian Langone, at SpaceX for five years developing power systems for Dragon 2, Falcon 9 and Starlink. We were all foodies and wanted to create a food brand that could benefit from advanced automation.
The technology development started with building ovens and smaller bench-top versions of the subsystems in my living room at home. Through much trial and error, the machine evolved into what it is today with help of the team’s space-grade design process.
Today, Stellar has over 23 ex-SpaceX employees working for us along with people from UberEATS, Sweetgreen and Fresh Brothers. Our offices, coincidentally, are right near SpaceX. We have lots of our friends from SpaceX serve as our unofficial food tasters! Their feedback has really helped us dial in a great recipe.
How does the touchless, robotic machine work?
The machine was designed with in-house electronics and mechanisms to make the perfect pie. Custom software is used to control the entire system that will take a dough ball, open it, add toppings and finally cook it.
What is the pizza-making process like?
When a customer orders a pizza using our custom-built Stellar Pizza app, the dough storage system produces a dough ball. The dough ball is then transferred to an automated dough press that opens and flattens the dough. Next, the dough ball moves into the topping line system, where the machine adds sauce, cheese and any other toppings that customer desires. Finally, pizzas are moved by an automated pizza peel that launches the pizzas into one of four ovens. Once cooking has finished, the pizzas are sent into the hands of our employees to be handed off to a customer.
What are the growth plans for Stellar Pizza?
As with any restaurant business, growth will depend on our initial/continued success. A bright future involves hundreds of Stellar Pizza trucks on the road, across the U.S. in the next five years.
How do you see Stellar fitting into the future of the pizza industry?
Stellar fits into the pizza industry as a new brand that delivers on the promise of fast, fresh and affordable pizza. As the brand grows, Stellar Pizza strives to be the obvious choice for any hungry consumer that is craving delicious pizza.