Server robot in Lubbock to ease stress off servers during labor shortages

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Sanctuary Bar & Café has been struggling to find waiters and waitresses during the labor shortage, putting more stress on the servers who are working.

Rosie the server robot is at the Sanctuary Bar & Café on 82nd and Slide. The robot will soon take food and drinks to anyone in the V.I.P. section. The Front of House Operations Manager, Tiffany Teschner, says Customers will be able to sit down and order from an iPad.

“Punch in what you’re wanting to order and then once it’s ready, Rosie will bring it out to you,” Teschner, said.

Sanctuary Bar & Café opened three years ago. Teschner says with the rise in labor shortages, it’s been hard to fill server positions.

“You need somebody to run that, and when you don’t have a lot of people and they have 10 tables, it gets a little stressful and a little hard,” Teschner said. “So, this puts everybody at ease, it’s more of an assistance just to help everybody honestly.”

Servers have a lot on their plate, so sometimes food sits in the kitchen a little longer than desired. Teschner says with Rosie, customers’ food will arrive faster and fresher.

“With Rosie, you’re able to have everything when you need it and have a more one-on-one experience with the servers because you don’t have, they’re not running like crazy trying to get everybody their food, their drinks, and all that kind of stuff,” Teschner said.

Macy Hebert has been at Sanctuary Bar & Café for three months and has been a server for two years. She says the hardest part of her job is what Teschner said, getting the food to the customers quickly.

“Remembering like, ‘Oh my gosh! I put wings in like 10 minutes ago, are they ready yet?’ So, having the robot here, Rosie, should really ease the stress and like maintain the vibe of the restaurant,” Hebert said.

Hebert explains serving comes with a lot of duties.

“Sometimes with like seven people at each table,” Hebert said. “So, it’s kind of hard getting everyone’s orders right, making sure you have everything in on time, you know like making sure one order doesn’t come out before the other so people don’t get upset.”

After Rosie delivers the customer’s food, she will tell them to enjoy and heads back to the kitchen to get cleaned up for the next order.

“When she goes back she gets fully wiped down again and that just really cuts down so many hands touching so many plates and everything else, and so that’s a good thing,” Teschner said.

Rosie will start serving when the V.I.P. section launches in January.