If you see a robot in need of a caffeine fix, chances are a Cary company had something to do with it.

PRStreet, a Cary marketing firm, recently took the Caffeinator through the streets of Manhattan to promote Encaff Energy Stix, a caffeine powder you sprinkle on your tongue.

There, the a 10-foot-tall robot caused quite the stir.

It hit the morning shows, Times Square and Wall Street.

The robot was designed by Jesse Johnson, a student at Virginia Tech. It's made up of junk -- plastic pipes, chains, helmets, shoulder pads and the like.

Graham Wilson, PRStreet president, contacted Johnson after he saw another of his characters on the Internet.

He commissioned the artist to create a mascot for the energy powder that was reminiscent of a Transformer robot.

Johnson is also the one in the suit.

"It's amazing how well he gets around in it," Wilson said. The robot lives with Johnson. "He's the only one who can wear it," Wilson explained.

Diaper doula opening new store

MORRISVILLE A Cary woman who runs a successful home-delivery diaper service is planning a Morrisville shop.

Karissa Binkley says The Diapering Doula store will open next month in Grace Park at Davis Drive and Morrisville-Carpenter Road. It will serve as a home base for the delivery side of the business, which makes weekly deliveries of unbleached cotton diapers to Triangle homes.

It will also be a place for Binkley to sell diapers and hold classes.

Binkley is a registered doula, a person trained to provide emotional and physical comfort for women who are pregnant or giving birth.

Coca-Cola vet to lead Pantry

CARY A former Coca-Cola executive will take the helm of the Southeast's biggest convenience-store chain when its current CEO steps down in September.

The Pantry, which recently moved its corporate headquarters to Cary from Stanford, named Terrance M. Marks to its top spot.

Marks, 49, was president of Coca-Cola Enterprises' North America Group from 2005 to 2008, leading a $15 billion operation with 55,000 employees.

He replaces Peter J. Sodini, who announced in April that he would leave his post when his current contract expires next month.