{"id":5491,"date":"2021-07-12T20:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T01:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-gordon-food-service.pantheonsite.io\/success-story-florida-restaurants-robots-explore-new-frontier\/"},"modified":"2023-05-24T10:29:15","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T15:29:15","slug":"success-story-florida-restaurants-robots-explore-new-frontier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfs.com\/es-us\/ideas\/success-story-florida-restaurants-robots-explore-new-frontier\/","title":{"rendered":"Success Story: Florida Restaurant\u2019s Robots Explore a New Frontier"},"content":{"rendered":"

You don\u2019t need a crystal ball to see the future of full-service restaurants. The space age is here today, as food-carrying robots roll up to dining room tables at six Sergio\u2019s locations in South Florida.<\/p>\n

ASTRO\u2014short for Automated Service Tray Removal Organizer\u2014is a 3-foot-tall robot with a name inspired by \u201cThe Jetsons\u201d and a shape that resembles R2-D2 with shelves. It functions as a personal assistant, saving steps for servers and allowing them to spend more time with customers. <\/p>\n

The robots represent innovation built on a tier of desperation, says Carlos Gazitua<\/a>, CEO of Sergio\u2019s Family Restaurants<\/a>. As pandemic restrictions eased, the Miami-area Cuban-American fusion restaurants felt the labor shortage. <\/p>\n

Customer traffic picked up and Sergio\u2019s staffers took on more and longer shifts. WIth it came stress and exhaustion. The operation was at risk of closing a day or two a week to make sure other days could offer the dining experience customers expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe needed to do whatever we could to keep our employees from leaving us,\u201d Gazitua says. \u201cWhen you see employees crying, you know the burnout is real, and you do anything to alleviate their stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ASTROTurning to robot technology<\/h3>\n

One potential solution led him to connect with Bear Robotics in Silicon Valley, which makes automated vehicles for the restaurant industry. What followed was a \u201cLet\u2019s do it!\u201d moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur servers told us they were walking too much and were exhausted, and we said, \u2018Well, what if we take the hard part out and send the food to you?\u2019\u201d he recalls. \u201cThey could spend more time with guests, and go from three tables to six tables and make more money by working less.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, servers are up to five tables, but the data is impressive. A week after implementing robot help, Sergio\u2019s servers saved more than 1 million feet of travel and ASTRO made 10,000 successful deliveries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing 25 to 30% efficiency on the service side, and we\u2019re removing a lot of wear and tear for the servers\u2014they don\u2019t have to carry 20 pounds of plates over their shoulders,\u201d Gazitua says.<\/p>\n

Robot delivery teamwork<\/h3>\n

The kitchen staff loads ASTRO with plates and taps in a destination. Servers get a voice alert and meet the robot at the table to present plates to guests. In the meantime, servers can fill drink orders, keep tables clean and fulfill customer requests.<\/p>\n

ASTRO works every shift, delivering omelets, Cuban toast or bone-in ham at breakfast. During lunch, it carries out popular sandwiches or lunch specialties like carne con papa (slow-roasted beef stew with potatoes. At dinner, entrees include flatiron favorites like palomilla (grilled steak, onion and parsley) or chimi-chicken (chicken with rice and beans, tostones and fried plantains).<\/p>\n

Meals can be customized with an array of sides, so no one runs out of flavor options. Included are local products, such as avocados from nearby Homestead or locally grown produce for salads.<\/p>\n

\"Sergio'sWith or without a robot, no visit to this third-generation restaurant is complete without croquetas. More than 20 million have been served in the four decades since Gazitua\u2019s mother and grandmother bought a sandwich shop called Sergio\u2019s\u2014a name they kept because it fit the diverse Cuban-American community\u2019s roots.<\/p>\n

Croquetas are savory pastry-like treats made using a lightly fried bechamel sauce as a binder for the goodness within. Chefs traditionally filled them with potatoes or meat scraps. Sergio\u2019s offers ham, chicken, cod, chorizo and a host of other options. <\/p>\n

\u201cSince we\u2019ve been in business, Dade County and Broward County came together to celebrate October 1 as Sergio\u2019s Croqueta Day,\u201d Gazitua says. \u201cWe have a holiday here in South Florida over our croquetas and how much they mean. It\u2019s a great honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connecting customers and community<\/h3>\n

Whether bringing out croquetas or flan, ASTRO is a star<\/a>. Guests gawk, take pictures and post videos on social media. The robot can even talk. Words and phrases like \u201csorry\u201d and \u201cthank you\u2019 are programmed in. Someday it may sing \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d and speak Spanish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy seeing the interaction,\u201d Gazitua says. \u201cIt\u2019s like a self-driving car\u2014it can go around obstacles or people who get in front of it, and it knows exactly where to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Servers also love it, Gazitua says, despite critics on Twitter who questioned whether robots would take away jobs. \u201cAfter two hours in operation, the servers said, \u2018Please don\u2019t stop, this is amazing.\u2019 It\u2019s about transformation, coming up with ideas of how to help your employees and help businesses see the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a connection that transcends the restaurant. Student groups from area schools have visited to learn about how robotics and automation technology can make a positive difference in the hospitality industry.<\/p>\n

More changes ahead?<\/h3>\n

Technology and safety came together in a big way during the pandemic, opening opportunities to independent restaurants and mom-and-pop operators, Gazitua explains. People of all ages and businesses of all types had to learn about apps or use POS systems to integrate third-party ordering and delivery. And QR codes aren\u2019t going away anytime soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith QR codes, restaurants can save thousands of dollars by not having to print new menus each time they add a photo or update nutritional information,\u201d he says. \u201cTechnology is needed for independent restaurants to compete against large brands and chains.\u201d<\/p>\n

Could a robot deliver curbside service in the future? For Sergio\u2019s, no idea is off the table. \u201cIf we can entice innovation, it helps the business owner, the employee and the customer. Then you have something successful to talk about.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

High-tech innovation helps Sergio\u2019s Family Restaurant address the labor shortage.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":15571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[110,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-restaurant-bars","category-running-your-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSuccess Story: Florida Restaurant\u2019s Robots Explore a New Frontier<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gfs.com\/es-us\/ideas\/success-story-florida-restaurants-robots-explore-new-frontier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Success 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