Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — Speedy Eats, a new approach to fast food, should be open Natchez by late January and probably much sooner than that, entrepreneur Tance Hughes said.

The first ever Speedy Eats machine, which operates like a self-serve vending machine that contains whole meals instead of just snacks and drinks, is now getting hooked up at its new home outside of Total Storage on John R. Junkin Drive.

In initially announcing the new business venture, Hughes predicted it would be operational by September.

“The unit has been tested and run and it’s ready,” he said. “We’re just getting electric hooked up, getting the sign on it, and getting all our permits approved. I suspect that within two weeks, it would technically be ready but I don’t know if it will be open by then — late January, but possibly before the new year.”

Hughes said now would be a good time for future customers to download and get acquainted with the Speedy Eats phone app, which will be the avenue for ordering food from the machine when the time comes. Hughes also said to follow “Speedy Eats – Natchez, MS – 280 John R Junkin Drive” on social media to receive updates and leave feedback. People may also send messages to make suggestions of things they would like to see added, he said.

Unlike restaurants or convenience stores, there is no person full-time running this new food service. Instead, customers order on the app and drive up to collect their food either ready to eat cold or heat up at home or at work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, he said.

Three to six months after the initial opening, a heating mechanism will be added so that hot meals will come out ready to eat, he said.

“We’ll have between eight and 10 meals to start out with,” he said. “Chicken Alfredo, General TSO chicken with rice and broccoli, Cajun chicken salad, chef’s salad, red beans and rice, chicken teriyaki noodles and a few different wraps.”

These meals can be made complete with fresh juices by chef Cheryl Bowman and other bottled drinks and chips.  Added to that will be a few seasonal options, such as loaded potato soup and gumbo, Hughes said. All of these are kept in a refrigerated container until ordered and are intended to be consumed the same day, he said.

Each meal will be kept in the container for up to seven to 10 days. The food that expires is automatically purged and discarded into a trash compartment, Hughes said.

“It’s smart in that way,” he said. “There will be a sticker with the expiration date on each meal, so when you get it, you’ll know.”

Other options are being explored like sushi, health-conscious meals and gluten-free options, he said.

“The plan is to start simple and see what people purchase first. We’ll let the people tell us what they want.”

In the initial feedback, Hughes said people are excited about the variety of options they will soon have ready to order at their fingertips.

“People are interested in having different meal options. The Chinese food people are excited about,” he said, adding since the closing of South China there are fewer options for Chinese food available in the area. “Everyone is looking for fresh food that is not fried fast food. For some cooking for two or just one person is not something they want to do, whether they are in a time crunch or they make too much because it’s hard to cook for two people. Women have contacted me saying this would be great for their husbands to take to a deer camp or to grab when the wives are out of town.”

Hughes said the machine is the first of its kind created by owner Speed Bancroft and his company based in Baton Rouge.

“I reached out to the founder and told him that I liked what he was doing,” Hughes said, adding he explained how Natchez had a “gap in the market” for fresh, quality meals delivered on demand. Hughes will be the one to be hands-on overseeing the machine’s operation, he said.

Natchez is the guinea pig for this new technology, he said.

“We’ll be learning about it and how to properly operate and will be tweaking as we go and as we learn,” he said. “That said, we’re looking for feedback from people using it because it is such a new concept. That will allow us to refine and tweak as we go. There is a lot of interest in this technology and there will be a lot of people watching this one.”