“Jukebox” Robotic Bartender Mixes Up Industry with Speedy Service
Inspiration from the ’60s and ’70s era paired with distaste for waiting in long lines are among reasons behind a Los Angeles-based startup’s retro, robotic bartender. Resembling a jukebox, Rotender is a robotic bartender that pours shots and cocktails in less than 30...
Uber Eats to End “Unnecessary” Plastic Waste From Deliveries
Uber Eats has pledged to make 100% of its food delivery trips emission-free globally in 2040 and to eliminate “unnecessary” plastic waste from deliveries by 2030. The announcement follows Uber’s ride-hailing service 2020 commitment of $800 million invested in zero...
Looking to Scale, RobotLab Enters Franchise Space
With more than 10,000 robots deployed worldwide, RobotLab’s products can almost be everywhere at once, but the same can’t be said about its physical locations. To change that, the California-based robotics provider has launched a franchise system, meant to give more...
Restaurants Use Customer Data to Deepen the Guest Experience
The core customers at Dave’s Hot Chicken are “the 19- to 35-year-old pot-smokin’ dudes that live in their mother’s basement,” said James McGehee, the company’s finance chief. Dave’s has tailored its technology stack and deployment of customer data with that guest in...
Amazon Extends Free Grubhub+ for Prime Members
About a year after announcing their partnership, Grubhub and Amazon are extending their offer of free Grubhub+ for Prime members. In July of 2022, the companies collaborated to make the Grubhub+ subscription free for one year for Amazon Prime members. Now, Prime...
How Restaurant Real Estate Is Evolving in a Digital World
The restaurant industry is dealing with tens of thousands of locations that were built before “consumers were changing their minds” and expecting to order from restaurants whenever, wherever and however they want. “They weren’t built to suit evolving needs,” continued...
Paytronix Report Underscores Importance of Responding to Customers
While the pandemic forced many restauranteurs into the digital space to survive, current data shows that the demand for digital ordering persists and remains a necessity for businesses. Paytronix, a guest engagement platform, breaks down several online ordering trends...
Serve, Uber Eats Scale Up Autonomous Delivery Plans
Following a successful year of tests throughout Los Angeles, Serve Robotics announced plans to expand its partnership with Uber Eats and deploy up to 2,000 AI-powered sidewalk delivery robotics in additional cities. The announcement comes two weeks after another of...
Toast Data Shows Dine-In Still Dominates Lunch Traffic
A new Restaurant Trends Report from Toast provides an interesting look at dining and delivery habits as the industry moves further beyond the challenges presented by three years of pandemic adjustments. Notably, only Kansas City and Charleston, South Carolina,...
Outstanding Operators
Food On Demand Outstanding Operators features restaurant brands with innovative operations that are taking creative paths to success with delivery and all things off-premises.