Dive Brief:
- Richtech Robotics has signed a binding letter of intent to become a franchisee of Ghost Kitchens America, the company said in a Thursday press release.
- With this deal, the service robotics company will expand its restaurant operations and acquire exclusive rights to operate an additional 20 Walmart-located restaurants in Arizona, Colorado and Texas.
- Richtech Robotics previously secured exclusive operational rights for a Walmart Ghost Kitchen location in Rockford, Illinois, and signed a franchisee agreement for a Walmart restaurant in Peachtree, Georgia, which is expected to open later this year.
Dive Insight:
The Walmart locations where Richtech Robotics’ restaurants will operate already have strong customer traffic and sales, George Kottas, CEO of Ghost Kitchens America, said in a statement. Each of these locations is expected to generate between $700,000 and $2 million in annual revenue, according to a press release.
“These high-traffic locations will bring greater visibility to our brand and our solutions,” Matt Casella, president of Richtech Robotics said in a statement. “We expect these platforms to become a fast-growing and stable revenue stream for us as we leverage them to manage thousands, and eventually tens of thousands, of restaurant operations in the future.”
The restaurants will be operated by AlphaMax Management, a Richtech subsidiary, and use robotics and AI cloud technology to optimize restaurant operations, per the release.
Richtech Robotics installed its robotic beverage system, ADAM, in a Rockford, Illinois, Walmart location — the second installation overall — in August. The robot is projected to serve between 100 and 200 cups of coffee and tea each day, according to a press release.
The first of Richtech’s Walmart beverage robots was installed in a Dawsonville, Georgia, Walmart in July. The robotics company is also working with Zipphaus Corp, a cafe management company, in a joint venture to launch robot-operated cafes in hospitals, airports, colleges and universities.
Richtech deployed its Scorpion robot, a single-arm beverage service robot, in late September. Through a distributor agreement with Park34 Liquor Store, it will deploy at least 500 of these units over five years, followed by 500 units annually. The first of these debuted in New York City on Sept. 26. By using a single arm, Scorpion lowers the cost and has a smaller footprint than the two-limbed ADAM robot.
Richtech Robotics went public through a $21 million IPO in September and will use the proceeds of this public offering for working capital as well as corporate purposes, deployment of product candidates and procurement of inventory, such as robotics hardware.
Ghost Kitchens America is expanding its model, with plans to open 240 new restaurants under the “One Kitchens” banner in the U.S. and Canada. Its locations feature multiple national brands and use “innovative front and back-of-house technology” and offer walk-in and delivery.
