Google pop-up shop gives out free donuts and Google Home mini

By Taylor Hartz

November 21, 2017

When it came time for Google to launch their new pocket sized personal assistant – Google Home Mini – they drew inspiration from the shape of the little round robot that resembles a donut. In a nationwide tour, the tech company decided to pair the release of their new product with local donut shops, stopping in Chicago to team up with local favorite, Stan’s.

Google’s mobile donut store set up shop in Chicago for one weekend on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5, giving Google guests a chance to check out the new home helper, and maybe even take one home. The shop was located at 439 N. Michigan Ave., with lines filling the sidewalk with eager guests who waited hours to check out the new product. Everyone who came out to the pop-up had a chance to play a game with the robotic assistant, that would land them with either some free donuts, or a free Google Home Mini. 

“What better way to show off our newest (and roundest) product than pairing it with free donuts?” said Google representative Charlotte Smith.

Greg Macek, a resident of Villa Park, Ill., was one of the luckier winners. Macek took home a free Google Home Mini, his second Google Home assistant.

Macek, who came into the city for the pop-up after hearing about it on a Google blog, waited an hour and a half to get in. “Worst case, I would have still won two free donuts for just standing in line,” joked Macek.

But the lucky winner instead left with a new device, that he said has already proved quite handy around his home.  “It’s been a nice addition to the house,” said Macek, “I can ask Google questions from my living room and bedroom now, control music or Netflix, and more, I’m definitely enjoying it.”

Smith said the new, smaller device “fits so seamlessly into your day-to-day routines, whether you use it wake you up in the morning, help you cook your favorite recipe, or use it to access your favorite podcasts and tv shows,” and that users like Macek are finding it helpful around the house.

The pop-up shop is stopping in cities across the map, but Google wanted to make sure it made it to Chicago.

“We know that Chicago is a burgeoning tech hub, so we wanted to make sure that we brought our newest and best products over to our friends and neighbors in the city,” said Smith, “Also, we had a feeling that Chicagoans would appreciate a few free donuts from Stan’s.”