It’s not a restaurant in the traditional sense — and the new Mezli site certainly doesn’t look like one.
Mezli, a fully-autonomous robotic restaurant that resembles a large refrigerated container, will open in the Spark Social food park in San Francisco on Sunday 28 August. The high-tech eatery is described by its founders as the “first of its kind in the world.”
While other automated restaurants have opened in San Francisco and other select locations (and while many fast-food chains continue to automate parts of their operations), Mezli is the first to offer a customisable, hot menu to customers— with no on-site workers, according to its founders. (With one exception: Staffers will load the pre-prepared ingredients into the site once a day.)
The automated approach, which significantly cuts labour costs, will allow Mezli to offer its menu of Mediterranean grain bowls, sides and beverages at a significantly lower price point than similar fast-casual restaurants, the company said, providing a healthy, convenient and affordable dining option for neighbourhood residents and workers.
In addition to the ready-made bowl offerings, customers using touchscreens can assemble their own from available ingredients, creating around 64,800 possible combinations.
