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> Mac’d is a build-your-own mac and cheese restaurant that lets customers choose their own adventure from the beginning. Is this for real? I mean I love a good

by koolba 8y ago

> Mac’d is a build-your-own mac and cheese restaurant that lets customers choose their own adventure from the beginning. Is this for real? I mean I love a good mac and cheese as much as the next guy but it doesn’t strike me as anywhere near the usual markets targeted by start ups.

matdehaast 8y ago
Haha yeah I was also a bit perplexed on this choice. But hey the team must be strong as getting past the YC partners is no easy task. My first thought when seeing this was Peter Thiels lecture where he discussed restaurants and why they make bad choices for disruption. Would be really interested to see where/how they go from here.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
jonlucc 8y ago
I wonder if it's a play similar to the coffee machine startup (whose name escapes me right now). The business is actually about putting excellent coffee robots in places that wouldn't sustain a staffed coffee shop.
- ryanworl 8y ago
  I think this is CafeX.
  - jonlucc 8y ago
    That's the one! Thank you.
  - ngokevin 8y ago
    Is CafeX just a gimmick, given there have been simple vending machines that can brew and make coffee?
    - jonlucc 8y ago
      My understanding is that it's a bit more than a simple coffee vending machine. It uses a similar process to that used in coffee bars (I assume along the quality of Starbucks, not your favorite super-competent local shop). It grinds the coffee fresh, has high quality ingredients, etc.
      - ngokevin 8y ago
        Though grinding fresh and having high quality ingredients doesn't need the giant robotic arm, which serves only to move the cups around.
        ryanworl 8y ago
        My personal theory is that robotic arms are cheap enough now that you can purchase relatively standard coffee making equipment and program the arm to operate it, rather than needing specially designed coffee making equipment. Throw it all in a big box, and the arm makes for a good show while also just being cheaper.
samstave 8y ago
They posted here on HN recently and I went and checked out their menu. And while it sounds delicious, I just cant believe that I, personally, would be regularly paying ~$15 for mac and cheese - let alone that be a venture backed startup. I am already of the opinion that food is exceedingly expensive in every regard, and when even McDonald's is now $11 for a big-mac meal, I just can't believe how we aren't looking to make food any more affordable.
- komali2 8y ago
  I'd be shocked if you could put down the entire Mac n cheese on your own... It's at least a 2 person meal and my GF and I usually have leftovers anyway.
  - ngokevin 8y ago
    I've eaten at MAC'D in SF, we had two people on one plate, and still had leftovers.
heinrichf 8y ago
It is! Previously discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17726090 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17726090
komali2 8y ago
Oh shit I didn't even see that they were on the list! They recently opened up a location across the street from me, at Polk and Vallejo. It's pretty darn good, decently priced too. Food takes a weird amount of time to make, maybe because I went in a day after the new shop opened.
kornish 8y ago
MAC'D is interesting because it can use low-cost ghost kitchens (e.g. commissary kitchens and only a couple staff) and logistics middlemen (e.g. Doordash, Uber Eats) to spin up high-margin, operationally efficient restaurants. I believe they've already started to expand beyond SF. Pretty neat stuff.
nodesocket 8y ago
Welcome to the absurd bay area of now. YC used to fund interesting revolutionary companies (Dropbox, Stripe, Airbnb, Heroku) now it's $15 plate of Mac and Cheese, 100 percent vegan online grocery stores, and spandex pants.

by koolba 8y ago

matdehaast 8y ago

Haha yeah I was also a bit perplexed on this choice. But hey the team must be strong as getting past the YC partners is no easy task. My first thought when seeing this was Peter Thiels lecture where he discussed restaurants and why they make bad choices for disruption. Would be really interested to see where/how they go from here.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

jonlucc 8y ago

I wonder if it's a play similar to the coffee machine startup (whose name escapes me right now). The business is actually about putting excellent coffee robots in places that wouldn't sustain a staffed coffee shop.

ryanworl 8y ago
I think this is CafeX.
- jonlucc 8y ago
  That's the one! Thank you.
- ngokevin 8y ago
  Is CafeX just a gimmick, given there have been simple vending machines that can brew and make coffee?
  - jonlucc 8y ago
    My understanding is that it's a bit more than a simple coffee vending machine. It uses a similar process to that used in coffee bars (I assume along the quality of Starbucks, not your favorite super-competent local shop). It grinds the coffee fresh, has high quality ingredients, etc.
    - ngokevin 8y ago
      Though grinding fresh and having high quality ingredients doesn't need the giant robotic arm, which serves only to move the cups around.
      - ryanworl 8y ago
        My personal theory is that robotic arms are cheap enough now that you can purchase relatively standard coffee making equipment and program the arm to operate it, rather than needing specially designed coffee making equipment. Throw it all in a big box, and the arm makes for a good show while also just being cheaper.

samstave 8y ago

They posted here on HN recently and I went and checked out their menu. And while it sounds delicious, I just cant believe that I, personally, would be regularly paying ~$15 for mac and cheese - let alone that be a venture backed startup. I am already of the opinion that food is exceedingly expensive in every regard, and when even McDonald's is now $11 for a big-mac meal, I just can't believe how we aren't looking to make food any more affordable.

komali2 8y ago
I'd be shocked if you could put down the entire Mac n cheese on your own... It's at least a 2 person meal and my GF and I usually have leftovers anyway.
- ngokevin 8y ago
  I've eaten at MAC'D in SF, we had two people on one plate, and still had leftovers.

heinrichf 8y ago

It is! Previously discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17726090 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17726090

komali2 8y ago

Oh shit I didn't even see that they were on the list! They recently opened up a location across the street from me, at Polk and Vallejo. It's pretty darn good, decently priced too. Food takes a weird amount of time to make, maybe because I went in a day after the new shop opened.

kornish 8y ago

MAC'D is interesting because it can use low-cost ghost kitchens (e.g. commissary kitchens and only a couple staff) and logistics middlemen (e.g. Doordash, Uber Eats) to spin up high-margin, operationally efficient restaurants. I believe they've already started to expand beyond SF. Pretty neat stuff.

nodesocket 8y ago

Welcome to the absurd bay area of now. YC used to fund interesting revolutionary companies (Dropbox, Stripe, Airbnb, Heroku) now it's $15 plate of Mac and Cheese, 100 percent vegan online grocery stores, and spandex pants.