Charlotte, a new hostess, seems eager to show restaurant customers to their seats.
"Please follow me to the table," she says politely in a girlish voice.
Dressed in a purple uniform with a hat that looks like one worn by an old-fashioned bellhop, Charlotte waits until patrons are seated to say their server will be with them shortly and she hopes they enjoy their meal.
If someone accidentally bumps into her, Charlotte says "excuse me" and rolls out of their way.
Charlotte, who seems like the perfect employee, is a robot, one of five now "working" at the new Robot Captain Crabs Cajun Seafood & Bar near Newark.
In a concept perhaps imagined only in Delaware right now, futuristic sci-fi meets rustic seafood at this robot restaurant which opens daily at noon.
Owner Guang Chen says he believes the seafood restaurant at 1130 Capitol Trail, near Red Mill Road, could be one of the first in the United States to use robot servers and hosts.
It's a little bit "Jetsons," a little bit "Star Wars."
"Kids love it. They're taking photos. Adults are amazed," says John Soysal, general manager of the seafood restaurant, formerly Soffritto Italian Grill, that opened June 22.
Chen says he got the idea for the robot servers after seeing them in restaurants in China. Each one costs $20,000.
There are two "hostesses" and three "food runners," each less than 4-feet tall. They can spin in circles, flash blue, red and green lights and '"talk" to customers.
While the new restaurant has human cooks, hosts, bartenders and a wait staff, three robots bring plates and trays to tables.
So far, Chen says most patrons seem enchanted with the bots, though some people have been ambivalent about the use of artificial intelligence.
"It's a mixed feeling. Some people feel like they are taking the place of humans," Chen says.
Not true, Soysal says.
A human host greeters customers at the door. That person gets the number of people in the party and punches it into a computer to find an open table.
Then, one of the two robot hostesses, this evening, they're Charlotte and Michelle, take over.
The robot tells the customers her name – the machines can be programmed to say different names on different nights such as Calli and Shirley – and then asks customers to follow her as she rolls toward a table.
There, a human server takes food orders and punches them into a computer which signals the kitchen to start cooking.
The Cajun menu includes fried and boiled seafood. When it comes to a seafood boil, customers select their seasoning (lemon pepper, garlic butter, Cajun or "house") and the level of spice, ranging from mild to "fire."
Chen, whose family owns Hibachi Grill in Peoples Plaza in Bear, says he learned the recipes for the various seasoning sauces from his father, a longtime chef at restaurants in Louisiana.
The boiled seafood – clams, shrimp, crabs and more – comes in a bag, along with two ears of corn, two potatoes, and four pieces of sausage. Prices range from $23 for a half-pound serving up to $49 for a pound of selected seafood along with King Crab legs.
When dishes are ready, the kitchen staff loads plates onto the food runner robots, which have shelves and operate like an automated cart.
The robot brings the plates out to the dining room and rolls them directly to the table.
A human server puts the dishes in front of customers.
"Please enjoy your meal," says a voice from the robot that also sounds like a young woman. On the website, the food runner robots are named Dexter, Alvin and Sheldon.
After a server hits a button on the robot, it returns to the kitchen.
So, who gets the tip?
"The humans," Soysal says, smiling.
Chen says he's not worried about the robots, which run on batteries, will power or break down. They automatically roll toward two chargers near the front door of the restaurant when they're not greeting customers. Any fixes that might be needed can be done by Chen's brother, a technician trained in robot repairs.
Customers Mohamed Bayoumi and his wife Nour say they didn't even know about the robots during their first visit to the restaurant on June 27.
They came solely for the seafood.
"We live pretty close to here," Bayoumi says, after their dinner of steamed crabs. "We looked it up online."
Were they impressed by the robots? Bayoumi was diplomatic.
"It's different," he says, and then added, "It's pretty nice and unique."
The couple says they planned to return soon, but not necessarily to see the robots.
"The food is good and the place is clean," Bayoumi says.
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Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/life/food/2019/07/01/sci-fi-meets-seafood-new-newark-robot-restaurant/1573695001/ 2019-07-01 10:58:00Z
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