At this new Kansas City sushi restaurant, conveyor belts and robots deliver your meal
A window into the future of dining — one version of it, anyway — can now be glimpsed on the Country Club Plaza.
There are servers, hosts and cooks at Kura Sushi, which opened Friday in the space formerly occupied by T.Loft at 200 W. 47th St. But they roam on the edges of the restaurant. Machines do the heavy lifting at this so-called revolving sushi bar. California rolls and other dishes arrive on a conveyor belt that circles past diners’ seats, drink orders come courtesy of a robot named Kura-B, and customers slide cleared plates into a disposal slot on the edge of the table.
An iPad near the door Monday informed customers that the wait on Friday afternoon was approximately 255 minutes. About a dozen guests were lined up patiently outside.
“It’s going to be a busy couple of days,” said Brittany Kiker, a publicist for the California-based chain, which now has more than 50 locations in 16 states. She suggested that those planning to try Kura first download its app, which allows customers to add their name to the list remotely, cutting down waiting time.
Coasting along the conveyor belt is a variety of nigiri and sushi rolls — the Texan Roll (spicy tuna, avocado and cream cheese, drizzled in spicy mayo and yuzu cream sauce, topped with fried onion and sesame) and the Golden Crunchy Roll (avocado and shrimp, spicy mayo and a sweet soy sauce topped with panko and sesame) are signature favorites, Kiker said. When you see what you want, you simply grab it as it goes by. Everything on the belt is $3.20.
But diners can also order via a touch screen from a separate menu that includes ramen, teriyaki chicken, fried scallops and even french fries. Those special orders arrive on a different layer of the conveyor belt. In all, there are about 140 items on the menu.
No alcohol yet, but the liquor license application is in.
Hours through the opening weekend are noon to 9 p.m. But after that, they will be 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and 11 am. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
