Automated Restaurant Opens in San Francisco

A new state of the art restaurant has recently opened in San Francisco, this new restaurant is taking a radical approach towards the idea of automated food services. The restaurant has no waiters and no “managerial” staff at all. There are just a handful of people that assist in the preparation of the food, but they too may soon be out of a job at the new restaurant.

 

The restaurant goes by the name of Eatsa. The aim of this restaurant is to try out a highly automated system for people to get inexpensive but healthy food to demanding customers in a hurry. The owner of Eatsa describes this creation as more of a food delivery system, rather than a restaurant. 

 

The new restaurant specializes in quinoa dishes and various salads. The focus is on fast, simple-to-make and healthy meals.

 

You begin by choosing a lunch from eight different quinoa bowls displayed on a flat-screen monitor. Customize your order on your phone, or via the in-store iPads, and swipe your card for payment. The system gets your name off your card, similar to airline check-in kiosks, and displays it on another screen.

When your food is ready, a number appears next to your name and you collect your food from the corresponding numbered cubby on the wall. The cubbies are each fronted by LCD screens that go black when your food is ready. Tap on the screen, gather your food, and find a table.

 

David Friedberg the owner of Eatsa has bigger things in mind.

 

“The objective is over time we want to automate more and more to increase speed and reduce cost, so we create a food product that’s much cheaper and also happens to be healthy,” he told the media.

 

Eatsa’s kitchen is already largely automated, according to Friedberg, and he hopes to further streamline supply chain, food delivery and preparation. For now, there are some people in back helping prepare the quinoa dishes, and there’s always at least one employee on hand to help customers and clean up.