For your feel good, and taste good, story of the week, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Syracuse, NY. Baker and business owner Kadesha Carter had a brick and mortar bakery business in Syracuse for 5 years. She loves to bake, but she also loves to travel, so she set out to find a way to have both baking and travel as a way of life. Carter told Syracuse.com, “I love to travel, but I love to bake. But I felt trapped running an actual bakery,” she said. “I needed to figure out a way to satisfy my creative side, make money and still be able to travel. And I think I finally figured it out.” Thinking Outside the Brick and Mortar Box Ultimately, Carter came up with the solution of having a bakery ATM – a vending machine that would dispense her homemade baked goods, including cupcakes, mini layer cakes, cookies, and brownie bites. Carter paid about $2,000 for a refrigerated vending machine and outfitted it with her business logo – Cupcakes R Me. Customers can pay for items using cash, credit card, or Apple Pay. The machine will keep baked products at a cooled temperature, enough to maintain freshness for a few days. The bakery ATM machine is located in the lobby of an office building in Syracuse. Carter stated, “I’m basically selling the products that did well in my shop, but they’re modified and repackaged to work in a vending machine. You’re not going to find a basic vanilla cupcake in my inventory.” Now, that’s a sweet idea.

Over the past few years there has been a dramatic increase in mobile and cashless payments. Exacerbated by the global COVID-19 pandemic, cashless payments are on the rise. As a result, ATM producers and manufacturers are thinking outside the box for ways to support the public with their financial needs in less traditional ways. One way that the traditional ATM is changing is via a Reverse ATM. Reverse ATMs have the ability to take a customer’s cash and receive a prepaid debit card in exchange. These types of ATMs are showing up at sports stadiums, casinos and cultural events. This allows a greater swath of the population to participate in events, even when they primarily conduct financial transactions by using cash. Another way that ATMs are adapting to the times is in partnership with a rather niche market. Video game terminals, used in arcades and casinos, are primarily cashless. However, video game terminals can now work in collaboration with ATMs to work in tandem. When a customer wins a game, the game terminal can provide a QR code that can be read by an ATM to allow the customer to redeem cash prizes. This allows for a more secure, seamless experience for gamers. Some other ways that ATMs can adapt to public needs are more universal. Such as the ability to pay for a meal using a self-service ATM kiosk to check out or by adding the ability to add loyalty points to a retail loyalty card via cash. While cash is still in high demand around the world, there are ways that the ATM can adapt to serve a broader range of public needs.

When Bitcoin officially launched in January 2009 it had already been introduced in a white paper written by an author going by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. According to the Bitcoin website, “Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; managing transactions and the issuing of bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network. Bitcoin is open-source; its design is public, nobody owns or controls Bitcoin and everyone can take part. Through many of its unique properties, Bitcoin allows exciting uses that could not be covered by any previous payment system.” The Bitcoin supply has maxed out at 21 million – that’s all that will ever be in existence. The relative rarity of this has made Bitcoin more and more valuable over the years. When Bitcoin was launched, its value was barely above $0. As of this writing, the value of Bitcoin is roughly $44,000, a marked increase. Bitcoin ATMs With the increase in the crypto-currency’s popularity, so comes demand. Over the past few years, Bitcoin ATMs have increasingly been installed in businesses worldwide. According to Coin ATM Radar, there are currently over 34,000 crypto-currency ATMs around the world. Bitcoin is the most popular of these crypto-currencies, and the United States holds the record for most Bitcoin ATMs, coming in at almost 31,000 Bitcoin ATM locations. California appears to have the most Bitcoin ATMs, with Los Angeles topping the chart, according to a February 2021 chart by Statista. The remaining top 10 Bitcoin ATM cities in the country include: Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, Detroit, Orlando, Boston, and Newark. Retailers that are considering adding a cash ATM to their business to drive foot traffic and increase sales might be wise to also consider adding a Bitcoin ATM. With the added value of Bitcoin ATM fees and increased store patronage, retailers may find that they can add a tidy sum to their monthly bottom line.

  Sales at bars and breweries in the United States have grown exponentially over the past several decades. In 1992, drink sales of bars and breweries totaled $12.8 billion. Twenty-five years later, in 2017, drink sales had more than doubled to the tune of $28.46 billion dollars.[i] In fact, breweries alone are forecasted to bring in over $29 billion in revenue by 2022.[ii] Drinking establishments are also on the rise in America. In 2018, the number of bar and nightclub establishments in the U.S. totaled 70,382.[iii]  While the number of establishments has waxed and waned over the years, sales revenues continue to rise. All Hopped Up Breweries alone make up a fair share of the drinking establishments in the U.S. In 2018, there were 7,450 breweries in the United States. That’s a significant increase from 2012 when breweries in the U.S. were numbered at 2,475.[iv] Microbreweries numbered the most in 2018, coming in at 4,522 establishments. Brewpubs numbered 2,594 establishments in 2018, and regional craft breweries came in at 230.[v] So, who is patronizing these establishments? By and large younger adults. In 2018, the share of Americans who visited bars and nightclubs in casinos was dominated by 18-29-year-olds (53%). Americans aged 30-49 made up 48% of visitors, and those aged 50-64 came in at 35%.[vi] It’s Always Drink O’clock Somewhere With so many bars and breweries competing for their share of customers, establishments owners are needing to get creative in order to get people in the door and spending money. In addition to more traditional ways of marketing and advertising, including social media, website content, and email newsletters, bars and breweries are also creating more exciting and inviting establishments themselves. Trivia nights, happy hour buffets, and theme nights can all create buzz for a bar or brewery, resulting in more foot traffic and, hopefully, positive reviews. One other way that bars and breweries are working to create a more enticing environment is to place an in-house ATM in their establishment. By providing a bar or brewery ATM, establishment owners easily solve customer concerns about payment options. It has also been shown that cash is still readily used as a form of payment. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, “Cash continues to be the most frequently used payment instrument, representing 30 percent of all transactions and 55 percent of transactions under $10.” Additionally, customers between 18 to 25 years of age older use cash approximately 34 percent of the time to pay for transactions. Considering that the younger demographic makes up the largest number of visitors to bars and breweries, establishment owners are wise to provide easy access to cash. Great Minds Drink Alike Whether they host costume parties for Halloween or tasting events paired with carefully crafted drinks, bars and breweries are part of the social fabric of the United States. By creating a more vibrant, thoughtful, and inviting setting, bars and breweries are helping to ensure customer loyalty and their own business longevity. [/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”1″ _address=”0.0.0.1″][/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”2″ _address=”0.0.0.2″] [i] US Census Bureau. (May 15, 2018). Drinking place sales in the United States from 1992 to 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 06, 2019 [ii] US Census Bureau, & Statista. (August 23, 2018). Breweries revenue in the U.S. 2010-2022 (in billion U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 06, 2019 [iii] Bars and Nightclubs. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2019, from https://clients1-ibisworld-com.colorado.idm.oclc.org/reports/us/industry/keystatistics.aspx?entid=1685. [iv] Brewers Association. (April 17, 2019). Total number of breweries in the United States from 2012 to 2018 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 06, 2019 [v] Brewers Association. (April 17, 2019). Number of operating craft breweries in the United States from 2012 to 2018, by type [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 06, 2019 [vi] Statista. (October 31, 2018). Share of Americans who visited bars and nightclubs in casinos in the last 12 months in 2018, by age [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 06, 2019