Chipotle's new CEO Scott Boatright reportedly wants to “modernize” restaurants with robots working in the kitchen.
“It's my endeavor to really modernize the kitchen,” says Boatwright. said Yahoo Finance. “It's been exactly the same for 30 years.”
Boatwright added that Chipotle's kitchen automation is critical to the company's expansion, which reportedly has a goal of expanding from its current 3,600 stores to 7,000.
Last year, Chipotle and Hyphen, companies aiming to automate meal production in the restaurant industry, introduced digital make lines where burrito bowls and salads move on conveyor belts while the system automatically dispenses each ingredient.
The system is currently in the testing phase at Chipotle locations in Southern California.
Boatwright told Yahoo Finance that Chipotle intends to “leverage automation” to complete online orders, noting that online orders account for 65% of bowl and salad orders. .
Additionally, Hyphen's make-line system takes just 30 to 60 seconds to complete a bowl, allowing employees to spend more time on burritos and in-store orders, he said.
In September, Chipotle began locally testing a robot known as Autocado that peels and cores avocados for guacamole. Produce slicers are also reportedly being installed to ensure “consistent cut sizes.”
Chipotle is facing controversy after it raised prices after customer complaints about portion sizes. “We think about value very differently. [than competitors] at Chipotle,” Boatwright said.
“I look at this as a benefit over price equation,” the CEO added. “Even as prices rise, profits must increase at the same pace to keep the value the same for consumers.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. you can follow her facebook And with X @ARmastrangeloand further Instagram.
