Sangam Chettinad Indian Cuisine Restaurant has invested in a server robot to help with contactless serving as a response to the changing landscape and customer behavior brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the server robot does not wear a mask, it has undergone safety training and stays sanitized like any other human employee would. This helps in alleviating the concerns of diners regarding contact and distance for health and safety reasons.

“It has altered the whole business model.”, Nalluraj Devaraj, the owner of Sangam restaurant, shared. The server robot was leased for $1,200 and has now done 60-70% of the restaurant’s pickup and deliveries may it be curbside or inside the restaurant. In addition to that, the server robot will be conveniently and patiently waiting by its “home” so it can quickly serve the food that would come out from the kitchen after human servers would tell it where to go.

The server robot also became a potential solution with the recent worker shortage in the industry also caused by the pandemic. With the restaurant being short-staffed and experiencing a fluctuation in stable employment, the server robot becomes a reliable worker that can be there night and day.

Devaraj is not the only restaurant owner who has been investing in a server robot. There are many other restaurant owners who have also been employing a server robot or two as they can see how a hybrid workforce with robots and humans could be beneficial for everyone in the long run.