Fast Food Robots

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The average hourly earnings for restaurant workers have risen by 66% since 2017, primarily stemming from changes to minimum wage laws.

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To offset rising labor costs, the first order of business was raising menu prices. The second order of business is automation:

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• Chipotle is testing robotics to assemble bowls and salads while Chipotle employees operate the top makeline to make burritos, tacos, and quesadillas 
• Sweetgreen’s salad-shooting robots are already in two restaurants, and they have plans for nearly a dozen more this year
• Jack in the Box’s Flippy robots are helping them cook french fries

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While there have been lots of false starts with the robot in restaurant movement, the macro environment and advancements in robotics make it plausible that we’re very close.