When Arvi Sabherwal, owner of Toast – Indian & Asian Fusion in Zephyr Cove, took over the restaurant in November of 2022 he wasn’t anticipating the large challenge that many other local restaurants are also facing: a shortage of employees.   

“The idea was born from not being able to find the staffing resources,” said Sabherwal. “It’s been very difficult to find the help in the industry.” 

Enter the Servi Plus hospitality robot, created by Bear Robotics out of Redwood City, California. According to their website, the robot is designed to allow the staff to focus more on the customer by increasing service capacity without spending time running between tables, and increase table turn frequency without the constant back and forth of food running and table bussing.  

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The robot, which Sabherwal says is like a high-powered Roomba on steroids, has a 16-dish capacity, can navigate ADA ramps, and is equipped to deliver drinks with stabilization, among other features.  

“I’m quite excited about it,” added Sabherwal. “I think will make things much easier from a service standpoint.” 

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While the robot (nicknamed Jane) has only been operating at the restaurant for about a week, Sabherwal envisions the experience happening as soon as a customer walks through the door.  

“Jane” would greet the customers upon entering via voice control system (there are also visual prompts for the hearing impaired) and from there show them the table availability and escort the customers to their table of choice.  

For now, servers will still take the orders and submit to the kitchen like normal. When the orders are ready, the kitchen staff will load up “Jane” to take the food to the table (or multiple tables at a time). When the customers are through with their meal, the dishes are loaded up on the robot to take back to the dishwashing or host station.  

Through A.I. mapping technology, the layout of the room is programmed into the robot to know exactly where each table and station is located – it can even serve the individual seats in the bar area. Active run time is anywhere from 10 to 13 hours on a single charge and Toast is currently running the robot on patrol all day as Sabherwal puts it, “It doesn’t get tired or need a break.” 

When asked if he thought having the robot would cause him to lose a personal touch with customers, Sabherwal didn’t think so.  

“We’ll still have a personal touch. Some may have apprehension but I think this is a very convenient way to interact in a consistent way. We can test out and gauge people’s comfort and apply that. We’ll be experimenting and improving.”  

According to Sabherwal, the restaurant’s first customers to experience it were families with kids and they were happy with it. After the initial confusion, the patrons felt more and more comfortable with each interaction.   

While Sabherwal believes it will create the impression that they’re moving towards more automation, he also doesn’t see it as a robot taking jobs.  

“This is bound to happen. Think of as progression in society. If it takes away a job, another job is created to program. Someone has to work on the back end to have it serve and someone has to be there to oversee. It’s happening everywhere in Europe. We’re a little bit behind in U.S. – it’s certainly bound to take over.”  

The Bear Robotics website portrays the robots as more assistants to current staff that allow them to maximize time with guests. If a restaurant can improve service at a time when they cannot fill necessary positions due to lack of workforce, it seemingly would be a win-win for both the restaurant and the customers.  

Toast – Indian Asian Fusion is located at 605 Hwy 50 in Zephyr Cove, Nevada. For more information visit them online at toast.llc.