McDonald’s Launches First Automated Restaurant in Texas

McDonald’s launched its first fully automated restaurant operated by robots in Fort Worth, Texas, this week as a test for future locations.

The restaurant reportedly requires no human contact for orders or meal pickup in the dining room and the drive-thru. McDonald’s said the location will be for customers in need of a meal on the go by featuring an “Order Ahead Lane” where people can receive orders on a conveyer belt. The new location is part of the company’s “Accelerating the Arches” program to improve customer experience.

“When you step inside the test restaurant concept, you’ll notice it’s considerably smaller than a traditional McDonald’s restaurant in the U.S. Why? The features—inside and outside—are geared toward customers who are planning to dine at home or on the go,” McDonald’s said in the statement.

“Inside the restaurant, there’s a delivery pick-up room for couriers to retrieve orders quickly and conveniently. There are also kiosks, where customers can place their orders to go, and a pick-up shelf for orders,” it added. “Outside the restaurant, there are several parking spaces dedicated to curbside order pick-up, as well as designated parking spaces for delivery drivers.”

Video of the new location quickly went viral on social media:

Keith Vanecek, the franchisee operating the test restaurant, told Newsweek the technology will free the restaurant team to focus more on speed and accuracy.

“The technology in this restaurant not only allows us to serve our customers in new, innovative ways, it gives our restaurant team the ability to concentrate more on order speed and accuracy, which makes the experience more enjoyable for everyone,” he said.

“I am immensely proud to have this new restaurant concept serving our customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.”

People were instantly divided over what automated fast-food restaurants could mean for the future in terms of labor.

“Well there goes millions of jobs,” said one commenter on TikTok

“Honestly if they go through with this I’ll just boycott McDonald’s, their food’s mid at best anyway,” said another commenter.

“This will put so many people out of work,” said another. “I’m not for it.”