Technology: Page 8

  • A Flytrex drone can carry up to 6.6 pounds and make five-mile round trips, according to the company’s website.
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    Permission granted by Flytrex
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    Papa Johns, Little Caesars take to the skies with Flytrex autonomous delivery

    Chains participating in the rollout will send orders to drones via a dropdown wire.

    By • Sept. 14, 2023
  • A Chick-fil-A restaurant is seen on July 05, 2022 in Houston, Texas.
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    Chick-fil-A tests robot servers

    A few of the chain's restaurants are using bots to deliver food to tables while staff still refill beverages and clean tables.

    By • Sept. 8, 2023
  • A man and a woman dressed as a chef look at a tablet. Explore the Trendline➔
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    Wavebreakmedia via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Back-of-house Technology

    From voice AI at the drive-thru to robot-powered makelines, restaurants are investing in technology solutions to optimize kitchen operations and reduce employee turnover. 

    By Restaurant Dive staff
  • Casey's
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    Retrieved from Casey's.
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    Casey’s expands automated ordering technology

    The system, which the retailer has been testing for the past year, answers incoming phone calls, processes new orders and connects to Casey’s loyalty platform.

    By Brett Dworski • Sept. 8, 2023
  • A computer with a screen of Grubhub's restaurant portal
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    Permission granted by Grubhub
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    Grubhub enhances customer insights with order frequency data

    Operators can view how often certain customers order from them and take action like running promotions to bolster return visits. 

    By • Sept. 7, 2023
  • Whataburger Digital Kitchen, the chain's first digital-only unit, opened in Austin in September.
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    Courtesy of Whataburger
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    Whataburger opens first off-premise-only unit

    Whataburger's digital kitchen, which debuted in Austin this week, features external ordering kiosks, pickup lockers and a mobile pickup lane.

    By • Updated Sept. 7, 2023
  • Toast Inc. point of sale device
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    Courtesy of Toast Inc.
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    Toast CEO resigns

    Chris Comparato, who has been CEO since 2015, told the restaurant payments company’s board on Friday that he’ll exit his leadership posts on Jan. 1.

    By Caitlin Mullen • Sept. 5, 2023
  • Screenshots of the Amazon Just Walk Out integration with Grubhub's app.
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    Permission granted by Grubhub
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    Grubhub, Amazon team up on automated campus c-store

    Students at the Loyola University Maryland store will scan a QR code in the food delivery app to enter the frictionless shop and pay for items.

    By Jessica Loder • Aug. 31, 2023
  • An image of a kitchen counter with DoorDash orders ready for pickup.
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    Permission granted by DoorDash
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    DoorDash adds automated phone ordering for restaurants

    The system will answer all phone calls, offer recommendations for customers to add to orders and process orders through the restaurants’ point of sales. 

    By • Aug. 28, 2023
  • A Primanti Bros. sandwich sits on a restaurant tabletop with a diner in the background
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    Permission granted by Primanti Bros.
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    Opinion

    Why AI is a key ingredient for success at Primanti Bros.

    The chain is simplifying and speeding up office processes by outsourcing tasks like sales and labor reporting to robotic process automation bots, writes Caitlin Stritmatter, director of financial planning and analysis at Primanti Bros.

    By Caitlin Stritmatter • Aug. 21, 2023
  • A Checkers restaurant with metallic and red trim and a red truck waiting for an order.
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    The image by Phillip Pessar is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    Checkers and Rally’s deploys Spanish-speaking drive-thru AI

    The restaurant chain has installed Hi Auto’s bilingual technology at 350 restaurants after a two-month beta test at five units. 

    By • Aug. 18, 2023
  • Woman standing behind counter and cash register serves ice cream cone.
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    Permission granted by Lynne Marek
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    Toast CEO: Lessons learned from fee flub

    Chris Comparato said on an earnings call the company will be more thoughtful about how it increases prices after facing backlash over a 99-cent customer-paid fee it later scrapped.

    By Caitlin Mullen • Aug. 10, 2023
  • A Grubhub courier. Grubhub and Sonesta will offer delivery to 120 extended stay hotels.
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    The image by Elvert Barnes is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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    Grubhub, Sonesta bring delivery to 120 hotels

    Customers at Sonesta’s Extended Stay and Simply Suites locations can order through the delivery platform’s app or through QR codes displayed by the hotel.

    By • Aug. 10, 2023
  • An image of a woman ordering at a drive-thru speaker box.
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    MartinPrescott via Getty Images
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    Friday Feedback: How are you thinking about automation?

    Restaurant Dive wants to know if you are investing in technology like kitchen robotics or voice artificial intelligence at the drive-thru. 

    By • Aug. 4, 2023
  • An image of three mobile pictures that showcase in-seat ordering from Uber Eats.
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    Permission granted by Uber Eats
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    Uber Eats expands in-seat delivery to Oracle Park in San Francisco

    After seeing significant demand for in-seat ordering at Yankee Stadium, Uber Eats has brought the feature to the San Francisco Giants’ home turf. 

    By • Aug. 3, 2023
  • Jared Isaacman standing in a corporate office.
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    Courtesy of Shift4
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    Shift4 shrinks workforce

    The payments company cut 150 employees in the second quarter, executives said Thursday during an earnings conference call.

    By Caitlin Mullen • Aug. 3, 2023
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    Permission granted by MrBeast Burger/Virtual Dining Concepts
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    MrBeast sues Virtual Dining Concepts, aims to kill his virtual brand

    Beast Investments claims VDC’s rapid expansion of MrBeast Burger resulted in poor customer experiences and food quality, but VDC alleges the complaint is “riddled with false statements.”

    By • Aug. 2, 2023
  • White Castle
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    Courtesy of White Castle
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    White Castle to roll out voice AI to over 100 drive-thrus

    The chain is automating its drive-thru order taking in partnership with SoundHound, which claims its tech can process orders within 60 seconds.

    By • Aug. 2, 2023
  • An image of Sweetgreen's rewards program on a smartphone.
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    Permission granted by Sweetgreen
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    Sweetgreen will extend loyalty program to its dining rooms

    The value of offering in-store rewards will be “super accretive,” CEO Jonathan Neman said, because most of the chain’s customers are first acquired through its restaurants.

    By • Aug. 1, 2023
  • A picture of a chef in a kitchen looking down at a calculator.
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    Vladimir Vladimirov via Getty Images
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    Readers Respond: Virtual brand sales are too low to justify complexity

    Across the board, Restaurant Dive readers didn’t expect virtual brands to grow this year, and some are considering cutting them to improve operations.

    By • July 31, 2023
  • A worker takes a bowl of processed avocados from a prototype of Vebu's Autocado.
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    Courtesy of Chipotle
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    Chipotle wants to improve speed with grills, robots

    The fast casual chain is trialing automated kitchen equipment that can trim prep time in half, in some cases, as it looks to improve accuracy and throughput.

    By • July 28, 2023
  • An image of a Beto Guajardo, who is wearing a suit and tie.
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    Permission granted by Blaze Pizza
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    Q&A // Meet the exec

    Blaze Pizza CEO: We want an experience that can’t ‘be replicated by machines’

    Beto Guajardo, now six months into his tenure at the build-your-own pizza chain, is focused on growing its footprint, making offerings more affordable and improving the diner experience.

    By • July 25, 2023
  • Opening small business. Happy arab woman in apron near bar counter holding digital tablet and looking at camera.
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    Prostock-Studio via Getty Images
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    Sponsored by Fourth

    How to make demand forecasting your competitive advantage

    Learn how to take control of your labor budgets, empower frontline managers and eliminate staffing inefficiencies with AI-powered forecasting.

    By Christian Berthelsen, Chief Technology Officer, Fourth • July 24, 2023
  • Brinker International launched its second virtual brand, Maggiano's Italian Classics, in 2021.
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    Retrieved from Maggiano's Italian Classics on August 18, 2021
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    Friday Feedback: How are you thinking about virtual brands?

    Restaurant Dive wants to know if you are using delivery-only brands as part of your operations.

    By • July 21, 2023
  • A photograph of Ming-Tai Huh.
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    Permission granted by Square
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    Square’s new GM for restaurants targets bigger operators with new tech

    Ming-Tai Huh shares how his position as a restaurant operator and a tech executive has given him a singular view of the restaurant industry’s challenges.

    By • July 20, 2023
  • Toast Inc. point of sale device
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    Courtesy of Toast Inc.
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    Toast axes 99-cent fee

    The restaurant payments company said Wednesday it would remove the customer-paid order processing fee by the end of this week.

    By Caitlin Mullen • July 19, 2023