When I landed my first real office job, I discovered the sandwich vending machine in our neon-lit break room. Despite the spongy bread and questionable meats, I was delighted to find a microwavable lunch for less than five dollars — served by a robot arm, no less!
As technology and demand have evolved, vending machines have only gotten more eccentric, more niche, and more advanced. For example, there is a caviar vending machine in Los Angeles, a marijuana vending machine in Aurora, Colorado, and live bait vending machines all over Pennsylvania.
Pittsburgh has some interesting vending machines as well, as long as you know where to look. While we don’t have a marijuana or caviar machine (dangit), you can find some interesting toys, nostalgic themes, and international delights that fit cozily into the ‘Burgh’s quirky, stubborn, throwback vibe.
The Phantom Menace Pepsi machine in Mt. Washington
If you know, you know. This machine is a piece of local interest, beloved by Star Wars fans and cheap soda sippers alike. At the corner of Virginia Ave. and Shiloh St. in Mt. Washington stands the Phantom Menace vending machine, dispensing cans of Faygo and other bubbly beverages. Like most other fire station soda machines, The Phantom Menace, we believe, still offers beverages for the low price of 50 cents.But it’s not just about the cheap soda. It’s about the '90s nostalgia. While the collectors' bottles are long gone from the machine (or at least we hope) it’s still a fun relic to come and see. And who doesn’t love to support a local fire department?
The GashaPon Capaule Station at Ross Park Mall
Anime lovers, this one’s for you. From Hello Kitty to Chainsaw Man to Kirby and more, you can feed your (or your kid’s) obsession with Bandai’s best characters by spinning out colorful toys wrapped in plastic bubbles. Each themed box contains multiple selections from each franchise, prompting buyers to “collect them all!” The fun of this machine isn’t just in its colorful Japanese cartoon characters but in the token dispenser on the side of the machine. You don’t even need cash to buy your favorites. Simply scan your credit card or your phone’s wallet to purchase five tokens, the standard price for each toy. The tokens have an old-school Chuck-E-Cheese look to them but with Bandai GashaPon branding stamped on each side. Once five tokens are plinked into the slot of your choice, turn the knob, and snatch the plastic orb with a surprise inside.
The Cigarette Machine inside Rivers Casino
Rivers Casino was the first indoor public space I’ve ever entered that smelled like cigarette and cigar smoke without a trace of actual smoke permeating the air, thanks to their multi-million dollar AtmosAir air purifying system. And where there’s smokeless cigarette air, there must be cigarettes, amiright?This particular cigarette dispenser looks vastly different than the dingy, horizontal smoke machines from my dive bar past. It’s clean, organized, set up vertically like a snack machine, and demands a whopping $20 for a pack of smokes. Thank goodness I quit all those years ago…
But seriously, no judgment here. If you love to puff on a tasty cancer stick while playing the slots, I say go for it. Life, after all, is a gamble. You might as well enjoy the things that make you feel good, even if you have to pay a little extra for them.
Vendor Bender in Squirrel Hill
On the corner of Murray Ave. and Nicholson St. in Squirrel Hill, you can delight your taste buds inside the vending machine mecca that is Vendor Bender: Snacks and Drinks from Around the Globe.With countertops decorated in old snack wrappers and convenient to-go bags hanging by the door, it’s easy to plan a day of international taste-testing. My kids and I sampled tons of treats including pear soda from Trinidad, an Aero chocolate bar from the UK, Shamrock Irish potato chips, spicy puffed rice from Bangladesh, Hello Kitty marshmallows from Japan, and ketchup-flavored Lays from Canada.
One machine's selection consists entirely of charcuterie items while another serves up frozen treats. The drink machines are filled with caffeinated and non-caffeinated fizz, and bottled water is only a buck.
With comfortable air conditioning and a grand selection, I highly recommend a stop at Vendor Bender. This vending machine haven is open 24/7/365, so hit them up whenever you’re feeling a whacky snack craving.
A vending machine is such a convenient concept: it’s open 24/7 (unless it’s behind lock and key), it’s fast, cheap, and easy to use — until your snack gets stuck and you need to shake the daylights out of it. My love for vending machines has evolved over the years, as have vending machines themselves. But even as an adult, there’s still something magical about slipping coins into a machine and watching a treat tumble out.
