Another side of fries? Our robot will be right out with that

Debbie Shank and her husband have owned the Dinner Bell Motel and Restaurant in Bonfield for 15 years, but “never in a million years” did she think she would be working with a robot.

But never say never because Shank has recently added Bella to her staff. The new addition arrived last Tuesday, and after some time spent to set it up and familiarize it with its new surrounds, the new help was put to work.

Bella, manufactured by the Pudu company, stands just under one and a half meters—about four feet—and resembles more of a high end, futuristic cart tray than a person.  Pudu calls it a “premium delivery robot,” on their website, and delivery is what it does best, bringing plates and drinks to tables and helping to bus dirty dishes back to the kitchen. It’s been a great help to Shank and her staff, cutting out a lot of back-and-forth trips.

Upon hearing that a robot server was in town, some folks raised concerns about lost jobs within the community, and Shank admits she’s been receiving some flak on the issue from online commentators.

She understands the concerns but mentioned that she “has just hired two more people” at the restaurant, and her intention wasn’t to create an autonomous robot service brigade. Instead, Bella is meant to bolster the existing team.

See: Robots to be part of social isolation research project

Plus, after all the Covid openings and closings, finding staff has been difficult as many workers do not want to risk the mercurial work environments many restaurants have become during the pandemic. “We’ve had a hard time finding people,” Shank said.

“We needed extra help,” and Bella is there to work, and if there are more closures due to future outbreaks, she’ll fit nicely into a closet until reopening.

“It doesn’t take away jobs,” Shank said, as the robot is more of an aide to human workers allowing servers to bring all the plates out at once, for example. Given Bella’s ample cart space bussing tables is made easier, too. Load Bella’s four trays and save a few trips to the kitchen.

Bella doesn’t take orders, but it can deliver your order to a table. If Shank is occupied preparing some food, she can send another soda to table three by placing it on Bella’s tray and telling it what table to go to. When Bella arrives table-side, the tray lights up to let the customer know which order is theirs.

Shank first saw Bella at a Toronto food and restaurant convention in 2020. At that time, “I really thought it was crazy” she admitted, the idea of a four-foot cart tray helping around the restaurant. At that time, before Covid, “I had a lot of staff” and things were running well, and there was no need for robotic help. “Now it’s a different story.”

Despite some negative comments towards Shank’s new hire, most people react positively toward Bella. “The people that are coming in are loving it,” Shank said. “They see the benefit of it” as well, “it’s an extra hand.”

David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.