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Five years ago, if someone asked Ottawa restaurateur Amir Rahim if he’d consider swapping out his $10,000 Cimbali espresso machine for a $20,000 Swiss-made automatic coffee maker, he’d roll his eyes and go on a diatribe about how the secret to making the perfect latte is all in a human’s touch.
“I’ve changed my mind completely now,” said Rahim, the owner of Grounded Kitchen and Coffeehouse in the city’s downtown. “It makes a really good product and, actually, makes a better product than a human and all you have to do is push a button.”
The change of heart was prompted by a restaurant industry expo Rahim attended this spring in Toronto. There, he’d turn corners and bump into robots handing out pamphlets or walk down a line of booths and see digitized, locker-style walls of boxes holding customers’ pick-up orders. It blew his mind.
Then, faced with relocating after condo developers bought the building housing his restaurant, Rahim decided it was time to automate as many parts of his new restaurant-cafe as he reasonably could — especially as a labour shortage made it difficult to hire staff.
“I’m using an automated process because it solves the challenge of finding people to do the job,” he said.
financialpost.com
“I’ve changed my mind completely now,” said Rahim, the owner of Grounded Kitchen and Coffeehouse in the city’s downtown. “It makes a really good product and, actually, makes a better product than a human and all you have to do is push a button.”
The change of heart was prompted by a restaurant industry expo Rahim attended this spring in Toronto. There, he’d turn corners and bump into robots handing out pamphlets or walk down a line of booths and see digitized, locker-style walls of boxes holding customers’ pick-up orders. It blew his mind.
Then, faced with relocating after condo developers bought the building housing his restaurant, Rahim decided it was time to automate as many parts of his new restaurant-cafe as he reasonably could — especially as a labour shortage made it difficult to hire staff.
“I’m using an automated process because it solves the challenge of finding people to do the job,” he said.
'Nobody wants that job': Some businesses are turning to robots to solve labour shortage woes
Hiring problems have forced some to embrace automation, but business investment faces headwinds in a slowing economy
