When McDonald’s launched the restaurant industry’s first self-service kiosk in 2016, they accomplished two things.
One, they created a judgment-free way to order as many Jr. Chickens as your heart desires.
(...not that I would know anything about that.)
And two, they unwittingly started an industry-wide obsession with restaurant automation.
(Or perhaps it was done very wittingly, consider how long that obsession has lasted.)
Now, the restaurant automation hype is stronger than ever.
Restaurants are finding new and exciting ways to automate, from speeding up self-service with conveyor belts to streamlining food prep with automated digital makelines.
And, we’re even watching automation history being made in real-time, with fully automated restaurants becoming less of a “Jetson’s-only” thing and more of an actual reality.
(Which we’ll talk more about in a bit.)
So, if you’ve decided 2024 is your year to jump on the automation train, you’re in the right spot.
Here’s everything you need to know about restaurant automation.
What is Restaurant Automation?
Restaurant automation is when you use tech-powered solutions to complete — and improve — different areas of your restaurant’s operations.
But what those “improvements” look like in practice?
That’s totally up to you!
You can use restaurant automations to improve whatever operational areas you see fit, whether that’s making things faster, easier, more efficient, all of the above, or none of the above.
Ultimately, how your restaurant uses automation depends on what your customers want, what your restaurant needs, and what automated solutions exist that meet both criteria.
Here are a few popular examples of what restaurant automation can look like.
- Automated orders
- Automated food prep
- AI “employees”
- Robotic cooking systems
- Automated customer service
- Chatbots
- AI voice assistants
- Automated inventory management
- AI-powered stock tracking
- Digital ordering systems
- Automated staffing
- AI-powered traffic/labor prediction
- Schedule creation and management
- Automated marketing
- Data-driven product recommendations
- AI-powered upsells and promotions
(If you want more info about AI-powered automations, check out this blog post!)
Choose the best platform to automate your orders with our Restaurant Online Ordering Guide.
Why is Restaurant Automation Important?
The reason restaurant automation is so important depends on who you ask.
If you ask diners, it’s important because they want speed, efficiency, and ease.
In May 2024, the National Restaurant Association surveyed over 1,000 U.S. consumers to learn more about their restaurant tech preferences… and the results were very pro-automation.
Respondents said they believe restaurant tech “[speeds up] transaction times, [provides] more accuracy, and [is] more efficient” than its non-automated counterparts. Customers also shared a notable preference for ordering automation, with 70% saying they’d order on an app and 65% saying the same for a kiosk.
Restaurant delivery automation proved to be a whole other ballgame. 84% of respondents said they’d order delivery on a smartphone, including a whopping 6 in 10 Boomer respondents (which, if you read our “Make Your Restaurant Popular with All Generations” blog, you know is a big deal).
Then, if you ask restaurant owners, automation is important because it makes their job (and their employee's jobs) easier, saves them time and money, and makes customers happier, too.
Automated kitchen management systems — like the one Chipotle has been trialing— can save you and your employees from tedious, time-consuming, easy-to-mess-up tasks like manual inventory monitoring or reordering. Automations have also shown savings in the food-waste department. Certain AI-powred automations offer “cook-to-needs” traffic prediction and prep optimization, so your team can prep just enough and throw out way, way less.
Restaurant owners have also leaned on automation support for staffing. While some people (incorrectly) assume that automation is intended to replace human employees, it actually makes their jobs easier and more enjoyable. Automation relieves your employees from tasks that are – let’s face it – boring as all get out, empowering them to do more meaningful, “human-only” things like customer service and support.
So, why is restaurant automation important? Because:
- Diners want better, faster, more efficient restaurant experiences, and
- Restaurant owners want stronger bottom lines and happier repeat customers.
(...not because it’s supposed to replace employees with high-speed robots, okay?)
Find out the pros and cons of automating your ordering in our Restaurant Online Ordering Guide.
Can You Fully Automate a Restaurant?
We just saw the range of benefits even small-scale restaurant automation can offer your customers, your employees, and you, as the owner.
But what if you could take those automation-led improvements to the next level?
What if you completely freed up employees so they could do bigger, better, more human things?
What if you could fully automate your restaurant’s operations?
If you look at CaliExpress by Flippy™, full restaurant automation is not just “possible.”
It’s good for business, too.
CaliExpress by Flippy™: The First Fully Automated Restaurant
In December 2023, restaurant automation company Miso Robotics, retail holding company Cali Group, and biometrics company PopID shared a massive announcement:
Together, the three companies would open “the world’s first fully autonomous restaurant” — a simple burger-and-fries joint called CaliExpress by Flippy™.
Located in Pasadena, California, CaliExpress automates just about every process imaginable, starting with how you place (and pay for) an order.
At CaliExpress by Flippy™, you can head to any of the restaurant’s AI-powered, self-serve, touch-screen kiosks to place your order. You can also log in to your PopID account before ordering, giving you access to personalized, on-screen recommendations, your previous order history, and the option to pay for your meal with your face, if you’d like.
From there, your kiosk order is sent straight to the fully automated kitchen, where two robot chefs start working on your burger and fries.
The first robot — created by automation tech company Cucina — handles the burgers.
The grill robot grinds wagyu-blend beef to order, then forms it into patties and cooks it on a flat top. The grill robot can churn out up to 100 patties an hour, delivering fully automated, “[melt] in [your] mouth” burgers to hungry CaliExpress customers.
The second robot is Flippy, an AI-powered, deep-fryer-focused system from Miso Robotics.
Flippy uses pre-measured servings from the system’s food dispenser, using its robotic arm at the deep fryer for perfectly crisp fries, every single time. With an output of 250 lbs of fries per hour, Flippy is a french fry machine (both literally and figuratively).
After your meal is robot-made and ready to eat, a CaliExpress employee will season your fries, assemble and wrap your burger, and hand it off for you to enjoy.
When asked about the motivation behind a fully automated restaurant, Miso Robotic’s CEO, Rich Hull was all about the efficiencies.
“AI-powered, robotic order-taking and cooking enables the major chains that feed America to substantially improve quality, consistency and speed," said Hull. "Miso is proud to partner with Cali Group and PopID to make CaliExpress by Flippy™ a reality. Flippy has been an incredible success story and now everyone in Southern California can come take a look — and a taste — for themselves."
How Restaurants Should Start With Automation
Ready to start adding automation to your restaurant or cafe?
At Craver, we’ve got just the thing to help.
(Actually… we’ve got a few things!)
Craver's custom-branded mobile apps and self-service kiosks are great options for automating your ordering process, making it easy for customers to place orders that they know will be accurate.
Automated ordering also frees your employees from standing at a POS all shift, empowering them to focus on more important things (like top-shelf customer service). And, because Craver integrates with all leading payment processors and POS systems, app and kiosk orders are sent directly to your kitchen — no employee intervention is necessary.
If delivery is more your jam, we’ve got that covered, too. Craver integrates with third-party delivery apps like DoorDash and UberEats, giving your at-home customers the same seamless experiences as your in-store diners.
Let’s see what automation can do for your restaurant.
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