Texas Restaurant Uses Robots To Replace Waiters During Labor Shortage

Diners at the Latin restaurant La Duni in Dallas are greeted by a cute robot with kitty ears when their order is ready.

Like thousands of other restaurants across the country, La Duni is having a hard time hiring employees. It's become so much of an issue that owner Taco Borga has had to close sections of his restaurant.

Most of La Duni is open after Borga "hired" Alexcita, Panchita, and Coqueta.

“Customers treat them like pets. They hug them, they talk to them,” Borga told the Dallas Morning News.

The bots all have different roles. Coqueta escorts diners to their tables. Alexcita delivers drinks, and Panchita delivers food. Borga says his customers like them because they have different personalities.

Alexcita tells diners they're pretty. Panchita will make faces when diners touch its ears and can even sing "Happy Birthday" when asked.

For Borga, the bots have helped him fill roles while saving the restaurant money. Each robot costs about $8 to $10 a day to operate versus the $10 an hour La Duni pays its food and drink runners.

Borga defends his robots and say they aren't taking anyone's job.

“I’ve had people tell me, ‘[the robots] are taking peoples' jobs.’ But guess what? No they’re not taking anyone’s job because no one is showing up. What they are really doing is helping the ones who are really working," he told CBS DFW.

He says it robots help his human employees get more done by eliminating repetitive tasks like running dirty dishes to the kitchen.

The robot trend is catching on, too. Earlier this year, Ari Korean BBQ in Plano tested out robot servers, and they're now a permanent fixture at Bushi Bushi in Addison, Haidilao Hot Pot in Frisco, Taqueria Los Angeles in Richardson, and Layered in McKinney.