Miami Gets Fully Robot-Run Restaurant

The restaurant, named Better Days Robotic Kitchens, serves Mediterranean-inspired meals with prices ranging from $4 to $15. Although the restaurant is fully robot-run, human chefs are still integral to the process. They create the recipes, chop and season the ingredients, and package them in batches with specific formulas on the labels. Once an order is placed through a food delivery app, the AI-powered robots take over the final cooking process. This high-tech kitchen utilizes three different heating methods, measures weight and humidity, and performs a final thermal scan on all dishes to ensure they are cooked perfectly in just two to four minutes. Better Days Robotic Kitchens operates 24/7 and is currently a pickup-only establishment, accessible through platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash. While this is Miami's first fully robot-run restaurant, it's not the city's first encounter with robotic assistance in the dining industry. Sergio's Restaurant, a popular Cuban eatery, introduced a robot waiter named "Astro" back in 2021 to help carry plates and reduce the workload on human servers. The rise of automation in Miami's restaurant scene is part of a larger trend. Sidewalk delivery robots are becoming more common in neighborhoods like Brickell and Miami Beach for services like Uber Eats. This move towards automation in the food industry is seen by some as a way to increase efficiency and lower labor costs. Nationally, studies suggest that a significant percentage of restaurant jobs could be affected by automation in the coming years. While some roles may be displaced, particularly those involving repetitive tasks, automation can also allow human employees to focus on more creative and customer-facing responsibilities. Restaurants that have adopted AI have reported higher revenue and lower labor costs on average.