AKRON, Ohio — There are always challenges when starting a new business, but one Ohio restaurant is crossing “hiring help” off its list. 

What You Need To Know

  • Sake Japanese Fusion in Summit Mall has six robots on its staff to seat and serve customers

  • The robots operate with human supervision and are dependable help when fully charged

  • The devices are helping fill a staffing gap for the restaurant during a labor shortage

Instead, Sake Japanese Fusion in Akron’s Summit Mall is turning to technology and using robots to seat and serve customers. They have six robots on their staff: One guides customers to their tables, four deliver food to tables and one works on the patio. 

“We didn’t know what to expect, so it was really cool to kinda see the technology,” said Mike Slattery, who stopped in for lunch with his wife, Juli, and son, Andrew, to check out the experience. 

Restaurant manager Tiffany Chen hopes more people come to test the robots’ skills. 

“We want to give them the biggest smile,” she said. 

She said the robots cut her restaurant’s staffing needs about in half. 

“Compared to what it used to be, we probably needed four servers. Now, we can just use like two servers and a couple robots to help the server finish their job,” Chen said. 

But human help is still needed to supervise and assist the robots. 

QR codes located on each table allow customers to order food from their mobile device that servers load onto robots once it’s prepared by the kitchen. A server enters the table number for where the robot needs to stop and the device automatically travels to the designated table, and waits while the customers remove their meals.

Andrew Slattery is a server at the restaurant and said he isn’t worried about the tech taking over. 

“I make that joke a lot, like, ‘Oh, they’re gonna steal my job,’” he said. “But I think this adds another layer on top of it.”

It was an experience he wanted to share with his parents. 

“We’re all about trying to support people that are launching into new ventures and restaurants and so this is exciting just to have this in Akron,” Juli Slattery said. 

Chen said bringing the robots to Ohio from Asia wasn’t cheap, but with a full charge, they’re dependable employees. 

“You don’t have to worry about who’s gonna get sick or not come in to work,” she said. 

It also helps find a way to work through a labor shortage. 

“If you don’t want to do the job, there’s some robot that’s willing to do the job,” Chen said.