Wings and Rings to Test Robots

Wings and Rings , a club-level sports restaurant chain serving signature wings and other chef-inspired menu items, has begun a piloted test of Flippy 2 in its Crestview Hills, Kentucky location.

Built on the Miso Platform, Flippy 2 leverages artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision and data analytics to maximize efficiency in the commercial kitchen. 

Robotics on the Rise

Wings and Rings is the latest restaurant brand to put robots to the test.  Other recent adopters include: McDonald's Slovenia is using the Bella robots to help deliver food.  Wing Zone will make robots part of the chain's standard build for all future restaurant locations. QSR Jack in the Boxis using robots to work the fry and drink stations. Tech innovatorChipotle is testing a Robotic Kitchen Assistant. After a successful pilot program,White Castle will add the fry flipping robot Flippy to 100 locations. 

As the first wing concept to integrate Flippy 2 in a real restaurant environment versus a test kitchen, Wings and Rings sees robotics as the next evolution in alleviating the long-term challenges that the ongoing labor shortage has brought to the entire restaurant industry. Incorporating Flippy 2 into its operations will help the brand stay true to Chef Dan Admire's culinary commitment of offering a consistently elevated dining experience to its customers.

Is Automation the Answer to Hospitality’s Labor Shortage?

"As a leading developer of robotics technology in the restaurant space, Miso Robotics is a perfect partner to integrate into our business," said Bob Bafundo, COO of Wings and Rings. "We've been so impressed by our conversations with Miso and our initial tests of Flippy that we're adding more menu items into our pilot. Flippy is consistent, dependable and cooks our food even quicker than before without sacrificing the flavor-forward taste we're known for."

Wings and Rings will not only see an immediate impact on throughput and efficiency in the kitchen, but its human counterparts will be able to focus on more customer-facing roles like waiting tables and taking orders.

With over 25,000 shareholders, Miso Robotics has raised $75MM in crowdfunding to date and recently closed its Series E round, which had a pre-money valuation of $500 million.