Colorado-based Tres Picosos has placed its Tres Locos Mexican food brand inside Evolvending's automated dining kiosks at four U.S. airports, giving travelers 24-hour access to hot burritos and street-style tacos without a staffed counter in sight. The debut unit is live at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) Terminal 1, Concourse G, serving the Delta Air Lines concourse. Tres Locos is also available at existing EvolveCAFÉ locations at Boston Logan (BOS), Charleston International (CHS), and Southwest Florida International (RSW).
What's on the Menu
The Tres Locos kiosk lineup centers on the brand's highest-demand burritos — Bacon Breakfast, Chicken Fajita, Picadillo Beef, and Pork Carnitas — alongside street-style tacos. For airport operators and concession managers, the format requires no kitchen build-out and runs continuously, filling the late-night and early-morning gap that traditional foodservice concessions routinely leave open. Tres Picosos founder and chief executive Jane Hartgrove framed the fit plainly: "Customers can get delicious Mexican food exactly how and when they want it — hot and ready — even when the rest of the world is closed."
A Fast-Growing Segment
The timing tracks with measurable category momentum. According to Vending Times, the hot food vending machine industry across the U.S. and Canada is projected to reach $9.6 billion by 2036, up from $5.5 billion in early 2026 — a trajectory that is drawing branded foodservice players into automated retail channels that were once dominated by snacks and cold beverages. Evolvending CEO Valentina Ellison called Mexican cuisine "one of America's favorite food categories" and said the Tres Locos addition gives airport partners greater flexibility as traveler dining preferences continue to shift toward speed, quality, and round-the-clock availability.
For Tres Picosos, the airport channel extends a distribution footprint that already spans QSR, convenience, and grocery through national distributors Dot Foods, Inc. and KINEXO. The WBENC-certified, woman-owned company has produced branded and private-label burritos since 2005 and operates additional concepts including Naughty Chile Taqueria and the Saluda brand. Additional airport deployments are planned in the coming months, according to the company, though specific locations have not been disclosed. Operators interested in the format can browse current machine placements through the Evolvending locations directory.
The deal reflects a broader shift in airport and transit foodservice as operators seek lower-labor solutions that maintain food quality — a tension that automated hot-food platforms are increasingly designed to resolve. For food and beverage brands tracking alternative distribution channels, airport vending represents a relatively low-friction path to incremental revenue with high foot-traffic exposure and minimal per-unit staffing cost.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
