‘It’s Adorable’: Miami Culinary Institute’s Café Introduces Robotic Server

Jaire Treminio was picking up food at the Miami Culinary Institute Café when she stumbled upon something rather unusual. 

A three-and-half-foot white robot was delivering food to customers at a slow but steady pace. The mechanical worker features two upper circular platforms that transport orders to customers and a bottom level to place dirty dishes. 

“It’s adorable,” said Treminio, a first-year education student at Wolfson Campus who visits the café nearly every day. “It’s really interesting seeing a robot [moving] around like that.”

The robot, which will be named by students via a social media contest that will be held next semester, is part of the recent makeover the Miami Culinary Institute Café has undergone that includes a revamped menu, kitchen and an expanded seating area.

Staff charge the robot overnight and it’s ready the next day for a full shift. The robot is programmed to say “your order is here” after deliveries, “excuse me” if someone obstructs its path or to wish someone a “happy birthday.” 

“Every now and then I pretend to talk to it when I say ‘hey, what’s up’ and it just walks away from me,” said Crispin Quintana, who earned an associate’s degree in computer science from Wolfson Campus last year but still visits the café three times a week. “He’s a little cold.”

The idea to use the robot was discussed last Fall semester when Carlos Gazitua, president of the Miami-based restaurant chain Sergio’s—who uses the apparatus—recommended the MCI reach out to Bear Robotics, a California-based company that sells serving robots. 

Esther “Shelly” Smith Fano, who oversees MDC’s culinary and hospitality programs, secured a discounted monthly rate—$699—for the robot. The cost is paid for by proceeds earned from the café.

“There have been customers who order extra food just to see the robot one more time,” Fano said. “It’s innovative, it’s very ‘now.’”

Prior to its debut in September, the robot was manually programmed by Bear Robotics—a three-day-long process—so it could navigate the MCI Café’s floor plan. During that period, café workers were trained on how to operate the device.

The MCI plans to expand its arsenal of robots. They are looking for a motorized machine that can clean the recently opened simulated hotel room in building 6. 

“It’s a cool bot,” said Rafael Toledo, who was visiting the café recently. “That little robot is just a small part of the technology infrastructure that Miami is building.”

The Café is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Students and employees receive a 10 percent discount on all meals this semester. 

Staff writer Jaime Blanco Pinto contributed to this story.