Robots are now in Triangle restaurants to serve, clean and sing you ‘Happy Birthday’
Brimming bowls of steaming pho are heavy, but the new server at Pho 919 eased the lunchtime rush by shuttling dishes to multiple tables in a single run. “Have a good one, enjoy,” the Servi Delivery Robot proclaimed as a human coworker removed a bowl of beef, broth and noodles from one its trays and placed it before a curious customer.
“It’s no longer hypothetical,” the diner said as the robot swiveled and motored back to the kitchen. “It’s a sign of the times.”
Servi debuted at the Morrisville restaurant a few weeks ago. Ahead of its first shift, the machine mapped out its surrounding — the configuration of booths, aisles, and kitchen — to ensure smooth navigation. It self steers at a walking pace, pivoting from a round base. Employees simply tap table numbers on Servi’s screen and tell it whether to bring meals or remove plates.
Pho 919’s robot has up to 12 hours of battery life, a bus tub and custom LED display that flashes “Food is Here.” It cost more than $15,000, an investment owner Michael Wongkittiroch says is worthwhile if it means delivering more dishes and putting less strain on his staff.
In Wake Forest, another restaurant robot plays traditional Mexican music as it transports food from kitchen to tables at Tlaquepaque Mexican Cuisine. It can also serenade customers with Happy Birthday in both English and Spanish.
“The kids love it,” server Maria Torrez said.
Pho 919 and Tlaquepaque are among the first Wake County restaurants to embrace the technology. One company new to the area is working to sell more.
Based in Dallas, RobotLAB doesn’t manufacture the machines; it partners with robot makers to test, sell and service their models. “Most of the manufacturers are international,” said Kalpesh Patel, head of the company’s Raleigh office, during an open house event Wednesday. “They can’t easily provide support to customers. Plus, there are often language barriers.”
The company expanded to Raleigh in November, and now has eight locations, including in Charlotte. By the end of next year, it aspires to be in 100 markets, says CEO Elad Inbar, who founded the business in 2007.
RobotLAB offers more than 40 robots, each designed for specific sectors. Some provide education. Others clean, augment security (with cameras and lasers, Inbar said), or aid assisted living centers. A cheery-voiced robot named Pepper — with a face, arms, legs, and ability to high-five — is marketed to the hospitality industry, and starts at around $35,000.
And then there are the restaurant robots. In recent months, RobotLAB has sold to Pho 919 and the Shuckin’ Shack in Rocky Mount.
On its website, the company highlights how automation can address persisting labor shortages in delivery, elder care and food services. However, the company stresses these machines are there to elevate, not eliminate, jobs.
“We are here to provide a tool for the existing staff,” said Lauri Arntsen, a sales specialist at RobotLAB Raleigh. “They can then go on to do more important jobs (within a company).”
North Carolina restaurateurs didn’t cite staff shortages as reasons to purchase robots.
“I more or less bought it for a novelty, and everybody seems to like it,” said Glen Yasser, owner of the Rocky Mount Shuckin’ Shack. “I’m not looking to replace any servers or anything like that.”
The Shuckin’ Shack’s robot is called a Temi, an autonomous host capable of playing music, displaying advertisements and singing “Happy Birthday,” along with delivering meals. Like Pho 919, the restaurant introduced its robot within the past month. Yasser said his team — and his customers — are still learning what the machine can do.
The area’s three Mamacita locations also have server robots, as does the Raleigh seafood restaurant Mariscos Nayarit.
Since it arrived last June, the Tlaquepaque robot has provided entertainment and utility, manager Albert Selchow said. Waiters, food runners, and guacamole preparers can meet the machine tableside rather than travel to the kitchen to retrieve dishes. Plus, the kids are enthralled.
“A long time ago, it used to be ‘Look there’s a plane. A plane!,’” Selchow said. “Now it’s ‘Here comes the robot. Here comes the robot,.’ It’s like the Jetsons.”
Open Source
Do you enjoy Triangle tech news? Subscribe to Open Source, The News & Observer's weekly technology newsletter and look for it in your inbox every Friday morning. Sign up here.
