Appetites: Robots food runners take load off restaurant staff

Three years ago Sawatdee Thai Restaurant got a robot food runner named DeeDee to help with pandemic employment stresses. Now the company, which operates four Twin Cities restaurants, has two of them and says they’re an invaluable part of the team.

What originally started as a way to make up for a worker shortage became a long-term business investment for Sawatdee, which operates four Twin Cities restaurants. “DeeDee is the first robot of this type operating in Minnesota,” said Sawatdee Thai Restaurant CEO Cyndy Harrison in a 2021 press release.

DeeDee, who’s name loosely translates to “very good” in Thai, is one of now two robot staff members that helps carry food from kitchen to table. Although no staff have been replaced, Harrison said employees originally thought it was a gimmick but saw how much of a load DeeDee literally took off their shoulders.

“Robots are kind of, in some ways, the future,” Harrison said. “We have to navigate what makes sense for each restaurant.”

Harrison said she believes robots will likely become more popular. However, she said maintaining a person-to-person interaction is vital for the service industry.

“The reason why people are going out to eat is to have that social interaction,” Harrison said.

The conversation has been edited for time. Click on the player above to hear it.

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