The Dangerous Economist: Sweetgreen Hires Kale-Shooting Robots to Speed Up Service

Chipotle, Kura Sushi also dabble with automation as restaurant labor costs remain high

This is part of an occasional series on robots. Are they replacing workers (a form of structural unemployment) or are they being used because labor costs are high? This issue often comes up in these articles. Links to earlier posts are below.

Excerpts from the article:

"The key to shorter lines and higher profits at one restaurant chain: a salad-making robot.
Fast-casual chain Sweetgreen SG -0.78%decrease; red down pointing triangle
in May opened its first restaurant staffed by a proprietary robot that shoots kale, cheese and other ingredients down tubes into bowls traveling on a conveyor belt. A handful of employees add finishing touches, such as spiced cashews.
The system can slash the number of workers and time it takes Sweetgreen to make a bowl by more than half, executives said. Eventually, the company intends for salad-making robots to staff all of its new restaurants, working alongside human employees."
"Restaurant chains are striving to become more efficient as food, labor and other costs remain high, and staffing tight. Chili’s, which is owned by Brinker International EAT 0.59%increase; green up pointing triangle, is scrutinizing operations down to the way workers prepare shrimp, while Wendy’s studies workers’ footsteps to design more efficient kitchens.
Restaurant chains for years have experimented with automation, though robotics haven’t taken off as they have in manufacturing and retail. Chopping lettuce and flipping burgers involves working with soft, squishy ingredients and a variety of tasks that are hard for a machine to duplicate."