Page 107 - Southern Oregon Magazine Summer 2019
P. 107
THE FUTURE OF RESTAURANTS
CHRIS DENNETT
ou step into the foyer of the restaurant. In front of you is a kiosk-style touch screen that asks you to sign in with your
name and email address. You can opt out of additional emails, but your reservation is held under your name, and you are
Ynotified on the screen that your table will be ready in four minutes. The three people working the floor of the 150-seat
restaurant are alternating between cleaning tables and running food and drinks. One of them pulls a small touch screen from
a holster, and taps it a few times.
A moment later, the flat screens above the benches in the foyer light up and a voice alerts you that your table is ready. On the
screen is your name and a map of the restaurant with your table highlighted. As you enter the dining room, your booth has a
conspicuous green light bar on the edge of the table, making it easily identifiable. You sit and grab one of the tablets at the table,
and press the occupied button that turns off the green light bar on your table.
Ordering is relatively simple. You peruse the drink list on the tablet that has pictures of everything with their ingredients, and
press your favorite cocktail. You then go into the food menu and look over the options. These also have pictures of the dishes
with descriptions and nutritional information, and drink suggestions if you want to delve that far into the experience. You tap
in the order for your table, which is sent instantly to both the bar and kitchen. Minutes later one of the expeditors brings your
drinks. About 15 minutes later, your food arrives. At some point during the meal, you decide you want something else. You
don’t have to flag anyone down—just tap it into the tablet, and there it is.
The end of the meal is equally simple. Your group is paying separately, so you go to the settlement page on the tablet and
separate out what you want to pay for, and run your card right there at the table. There’s no tip line, because there’s really not
anyone to tip. Sure, your meal is a little more expensive than it would have been in the tipping culture, but they’re paying the
summer 2019 | www.southernoregonmagazine.com 105
