People laughed when Garland was mentioned in the first frames of the movie Zombieland, some were shocked and envious that In-N-Out Burgers was headed to Garland before anywhere else, and now Coke has upped the ante by placing it's new dispensing machine in Garland before anywhere else in the Metroplex—indeed, one of the first places in the world.
 
Amid press reports of the new Freestyle soda fountain, comes this report from Marcus Murphee at NeighborsGo:

The future of fountain drinks arrives in Garland By Marcus Murphree mmurphree@neighborsgo.com   The menu choices are as alien as the large black box containing them in the corner of the Wingstop restaurant along Northwest Highway in Garland.   Raspberry Sprite, Coca-Cola Orange, Pibb Zero, Vault, Dasani Sensations — the list keeps going and going.   No, this isn't a Google search for lesser-known Coca-Cola products, but a sampling of more than 100 Coke brands available in the company's new Freestyle soda fountain.   Last week, through a long-running relationship with Coca-Cola, the Garland Wingstop restaurant became the first store in the Dallas-area — the third market globally — to get one of the futuristic touch-screen machines. By the end of the week, there will be eight more Freestyle machines in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.   "Until Coke approached us, we didn't know anything about it (the machine)," said Phillip Maldonado, director of company and international relations for Wingstop. "The arrival of the machine itself was something special."   The experience of sampling Coca-Cola products from around the globe drew customers like Jonathan Gaither — who drove in from Fort Worth to try the machine — to Garland.   "It's definitely different, I think it's great because some of the flavors you can't get in the grocery store, so you get to try something new," he said.   With 106 options, ranging from Coca-Cola Classic to the European Coca-Cola Orange, consumers have the chance to expand their palates and explore the world of Coke without having to leave their local restaurant.   "It's like nothing you've ever seen before," Maldonado said. "You can't imagine getting so many flavors out of one machine."   The touch screen menu is similar to using an iPhone application.   "Everything nowadays is touch screen, so people get the hang of it pretty quick," Moldonado said.   The innovative fountain, which is no larger than a vending machine, trumps traditional six- to 10-drink soda fountains by storing the 106 Coca-Cola brand flavors in ultra-concentrated cases similar to printer cartridges. Sweetening the deal is the fact that changing out flavors is simpler than the bag, box and hose attachments of machines past.   Said Ray Crockett, Coca-Cola spokesman: "This is revolutionary."

The hand leads the way to the new Coca-Cola Freestyle machine that was installed last week in Garland at its first location in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.   Jose Miguel Delgadillo and Juan Urias try out the new Coca-Cola Freestyle fountains at Wingstop on Northwest Highway in Garland.