Rarely does a vending machine impact an entire family, but for the owners of Chatty Cupcakes, they eat, sleep and breathe by the push of a button.

Founded two and a half years ago, Chatty Cupcakes is the creation of Ellan Toothman-Gannis and her daughter, Ella Gannis. The business, which is a residential bakery—meaning all baking is done by a residential oven—recently unveiled a cupcake vending machine in the Galleria Mall in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

The machine, said Ellan Gannis, was an idea they had always wanted to implement.

“The machine was, for a long time, our vision,” she said. “We both think this is where it [the future] is going.”

One day, Ellan Gannis had a conversation with her daughter about the direction consumer trends were going, and they both came to the conclusion that people didn’t want to be hindered while shopping. After extensive travelling to European countries as a management consultant, Ellan Gannis observed the uses of vending machines in European countries, such as vending machines that can produce pizza. She sees the cupcake vending machine as a way to jump aboard the trend.

“The vending machines [in Europe] are really quite popular,” she said. “You can get your gelato made with the press of a few buttons. We feel we are on the cutting edge of how it is going to be.”

With the idea in mind, Ellan and Ella had to find someone who could make it possible. After consulting with engineers at the University of Pittsburgh, who couldn’t build it, they finally found someone who could. The only catch was that it would have to be imported.

The machine, built by an engineer in Italy, took two weeks to reach the shores of the United States.

“It was quite a production when the 2,000-pound machine landed,” said Ellan Gannis. “It came by sea and we were there to greet it at the Galleria when it came in.”

Since being placed in the mall and receiving news coverage, the business has kept the family busy. Ella Gannis took a year off from her education at the University of Pittsburgh to focus on the business, which also makes deliveries to local areas such as Wheeling and Uniontown, and focuses daily on refilling the cupcakes in the machine.

“We bake every day and fill it with fresh cupcakes,” Ellan Gannis said.

The machine differs in several ways from Sprinkles machines, which are placed in large cities across the United States. The machine ordered by the pair allows users to see the product they are buying and is a “refrigerated self-contained bakery”, whereas Sprinkles machines are an ATM style machine attached to a Sprinkles storefront and the cupcakes are still being made in the bakery attached to the machine. Chatty Cupcakes’ machine is the first of its kind in the United States and its rapid success has left the duo stretched thin.

“We’re up till one o’clock in the morning baking,” said Ellan. “We are exhausted most of the time.”

Ella and her mother make the forty-mile drive from their home in Waynesburg on a daily basis to fill the machine, which usually runs out of cupcakes. Leaving around 9 p.m., they won’t return until midnight. The busy schedule keeps the two contemplating their next move as a business. While they are stretched thin on time, they aren’t stretched thin on quality ingredients.

“We definitely do fresh,” Gannis said. “We get our ingredients from specialty stores and have to go to Pittsburgh to get our bulk of refined sugar.”

The two learned their culinary methods by taking baking classes in several European countries. They studied with Peggy Porschen of Peggy Porschen academy and Gerard Jehnne of Konitor and Cooke Bakeries. As for now, Gannis and her daughter are devoted to making quality cupcakes, some of which will reach a patron at the Galleria.

“We like making very exclusive high end cakes,” Gannis said. “The real joy is when people appreciate what you make.”