Chipotle and White Castle are spending over $500,000 a month on ROBOTS to combat labor shortages

The rise of restaurant robots is upon us. Major fast-food chains are employing robots to flip burgers, brew espressos and greet customers - and it is a fraction of the cost compared to paying human workers. White Castle is testing the Flippy robot at 100 locations and Chipotle uses a one-armed robot to make tortilla chips at 73 sites - both cost $3,000 a month - and Starbucks has $18,000 AI-powered espresso machines in at least 1,200 locations. As food costs rise and an intense labor shortage grips the US, paying monthly rentals for machines has become a cost-effective option. The National Restaurant Association recently reported that four in five operators are understaffed and have been since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.