Picture it: You walk into a restaurant to order lunch, grab it from a locker-style pick-up window and leave with hot, fresh dumplings, all with minimal human interaction.
That’s exactly what happens at Brooklyn Dumpling Shop. The New York-based restaurant franchise recently opened its first Calgary location in Inglewood, with another location coming soon on 17th Avenue S.W.
Brooklyn Dumpling Shop’s business model is based on the automat, a food service technology originally born in the early 1900s. The concept involved patrons using coins to order and pay for ready-to-eat food that came out of individual lockers. The style fell out of favour with the onset of fast-food restaurants, but Brooklyn Dumpling Shop demonstrates its appeal in today’s age.
At Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, you can order in-store or online. When your food is ready, simply scan your code and your designated hot (or cold) box will open and present you with your freshly made meal.
The menu is mostly a fusion of diner and multicultural flavours. There are dumplings stuffed with fillings like mac n’ cheese, lamb gyro, Philly cheesesteak and kung pao chicken. You can also get dessert dumplings filled with apple pie or peanut butter and jelly, which are served with ice cream. Brooklyn Dumpling Shop also has a few dumpling soups options, rice bowls and burgers.
6, 1113 9 Ave. S.E., 825-540-1650, brooklyndumplingshop.com