SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A cafe in Santa Fe has a new employee helping clean tables and greet customers. However, this employee isn’t like the other staff.
“I just watched it navigate between people, and it rolled over, and it just stopped at the table and then the server came and took the food off the shelf and gave it to the patron,” said Mark Oppenheimer, a customer at Cafecito.
There’s a new employee at Cafecito in Santa Fe. A robot named 1C2 or “Juancito.”
“Oh my gosh, it was really cool. Just seeing something so futuristic come down. It was neat,” said another customer, Gabriella Akers.
The owner of the cafe, Andres Paglayan, said the tech is on lease from a California-based company called Bear Robotics. For $600 a month, Juancito helps provide customer service. The bot has different levels where food and plates can be placed. It also has a map of the restaurant to know what table to go to, and its sensors make sure it won’t bump into anyone.
“It’s been helping everybody bus dishes to the kitchen. It saves reasonable time,” said Paglayan.
Paglayan added his employees love the help, and customers always watch in excitement as Juancito is in action.
Cafecito is not the only restaurant robot in our state, the BioPark also has a robot named Cayenne helping out. Even though this technology is getting popular, customers mentioned it could never replace humans.
“There’s a certain novelty to it, but it’s certainly not going to replace a server any time soon,” said Oppenheimer.
Other customers stated it could help restaurants that are still facing labor shortages.
“I think it’s great. I think if it helps out the workers to get food faster, then I’m all for it,” said Akers.
The robot has been working at Cafecito for a week now. They are the first in New Mexico to rent this company’s bot.
