Jafflechutes Delivers Food 'Hunger Games' Style

A new eatery in Melbourne, Australia is making headlines all over the world. However the accolades are not for its cuisine, service or location, but for the way it delivers - via a parachute, similar to how the Hunger Games tributes received their gifts! Another unusual twist? The menu comprises of just one item - grilled cheese sandwiches or jaffles, as the Australians like to call them.

As you may have guessed, the world's first 'float down restaurant' does not have a set location. Like the delivery mechanism, the restaurant drifts around the city, depending on the whims of its owners.

Patrons that wish to eat at this unusual 'pop up' restaurant start by prepaying for their meal using their PayPal account. They then receive instructions to go to a designated street at a stipulated time. Once there, the customers align themselves close to spots marked with a large blue X and wait for the sandwich to arrive, by what the founders call a 'gravity controlled melted cheese delivery mechanism' AKA parachute!

In case you are wondering, the grilled cheese does not magically fly down from the heavens, but is made by the chefs who are perched on the top floor of nearby buildings with four sandwich makers. And while they try their best, not every delivery is perfect. On windy days the parachutes often drift away and end up getting stuck on nearby trees or street poles.

Fortunately, these unavoidable mishaps has not deterred business. Since opening its doors or should we say parachutes in August 2013, over 500 jafflechutes have been floated down to eagerly awaiting customers - and the numbers would have been a lot higher, if the owners were not constantly 'sold out'!

Adam Grant, David McDonald and Huw Parkinson say that the idea for jafflechutes was born when the three were stuck for a night at a countryside Inn with no access to electricity or internet. With no gadgets or television to distract them, the three spent the entire night discussing crazy business ideas. By morning, the world's first 'float-down eatery' had been born!

Think the idea is a little wacky? So do Adam, David and Huw, who opened the eatery just to have fun and have even made a pact to shut it down, the day they stop enjoying parachuting jaffles. But fortunately, that has not happened yet. In fact, the three are having so much fun that they have even decided to open Jafflechutes in New York City and Montreal. Though the team will not reveal when or where they plan to be at either location, they promise that if successful, they will expand to other cities as well. We for one, cannot wait to see a jafflechute floating our way!

Resources: fastcoexist.com, pozible.com