Fairhaven Restaurant ‘Hires’ a Robot to Create a Better Dining Experience

A restaurant in Fairhaven recently welcomed a robot onto their wait staff and it has the town talking.

Traveler's Alehouse on Huttleson Avenue unveiled “Wall-E” on Wednesday, and it will assist servers, hosts, and other staff members in providing better service and faster response times.

What is Wall-E?

Named after Disney’s beloved character Wall-E by the staff at Traveler's, the server/host assist unit stands just under 3.5 feet tall and was developed by a tech company called Bear Robotics.

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Wall-E is equipped with laser imaging, detection, and ranging to allow the robot to move around the restaurant with ease, and it has been programmed with the layout of the restaurant to make navigation seamless.

“It has cameras all around it, from up down left to right,” said Minh Tieu, the manager of Travelers since it opened in 2020. “If you step out in front of it, it will stop and go around or wait until the pathway is clear.”

Wall-E’s Job Description

Wall-E’s primary role is to help the team do their jobs even better than before.

“When we get busy on food delivery apps, the host will have to come into the kitchen, which leaves the front unmanned,” said Tieu. “With Wall-E, they are able to greet customers better, answer phones, and seat guests faster.”

Wall-E can also assist servers with bringing food to tables and help with cleaning up after guests leave.

It can even sing “Happy Birthday.”

So, Are There Still Humans at Traveler's?

During Wall-E’s big debut, it certainly turned some heads, but rest assured, this 3-foot robot will not be replacing humans any time soon.

“We are not looking to decrease staffing, we are still trying to hire people nonstop,” said Tieu. “Wall-E is simply meant to assist the servers.”

Tieu believes that when people gather a better understanding of what Wall-E does, the robot helper may catch on in other restaurants.

Move over Marty the Robot from Stop & Shop. There’s a new machine in town.