New technology at Sweetgreen allows customers to order their meals and leave with their food in under four minutes — and TikTok users have something to say about it.
The Los Angeles-based fast-food chain debuted the new process in North Carolina last week with a Charlotte location officially opening its doors — with a twist.
Sweetgreen communications specialist Jamie Schecter told Fox News Digital that the location has the brand’s “Infinite Kitchen” technology, which permits customers to have a better experience at the popular lunch spot.
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“This culinary co-pilot helps prepare plates, salads and bowls, allowing our team to focus on connecting with guests, fresh prep and putting the finishing touches on each order,” she said.
The co-pilot, shown in a TikTok video that Kaila DeRienzo made after ordering a meal from the spot, showed what appeared to be a robotic machine making her meal. (See the video at the top of this article.)
She told Fox News Digital the employees at Sweetgreen were “buzzing around it, ensuring it had plenty of ingredients.”
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Sweetgreen’s Schecter said the technology will allow the storefront to complete customers’ orders in less than four minutes.
“The Infinite Kitchen is designed to improve order accuracy and portion consistency, minimize food waste and provide more time for our team to engage with new and returning customers,” she said.
DeRienzo, 33, is a communications specialist and fitness instructor who was pleased with the quick service.
When she walked in, she placed her order on a tablet before being directed to the pickup area at the other end of the store.
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“While waiting, customers get to see the Infinite Kitchen, which is that large machine shown, and that is where the salads are made,” she said.
Staff members were at the end of the machine mixing the bowls and handing them to customers, said DeRienzo.
She waited less than three minutes for her steakhouse chopped salad — and said it was an improvement from her last visit to a Chicago Sweetgreen location last month, which took her about 10 minutes.
“I think it might be jarring to some because it’s a new technology that isn’t often seen in a quick-service restaurant, and there’s this narrative that robots are taking away human jobs,” she said.
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“The reality is that there were just as many workers there as there were in the other locations I’ve been to.”
DeRienzo said simply, “Who wouldn’t want to get a better order faster?”
TikTok users took to the comment section of DeRienzo’s video, which has over 161,000 views.
One user said, “I went to Chipotle today, and it took 26 seconds for my order to get done.”
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Another joked by saying, “Absolutely not — I like my heavy-handed servers.”
Other people brought up the idea that the machine could eliminate jobs, with one person writing, “Replacing jobs with machines. Great.”
The Charlotte, North Carolina, Sweetgreen location is not the first with this “Infinite Kitchen” technology.
Mitch Reback, the brand’s chief financial officer, said on an earnings call earlier this year that Sweetgreen planned to open between 23 and 27 new restaurants in 2024 — seven of which would include the technology.
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