There’s still hope for those who plan to dine in. Chipotle is currently hoping to test out the robot for online orders only. While a regular Chipotle employee can prepare about 20 to 30 burrito bowls an hour, The Makeline can make anywhere between 120 to 180 bowls within the same time. “It is more consistent and accurate than a person normally would be going at the same speed,” Hyphen’s CTO, Daniel Fukuba, told Insider. Some fans might be bummed out by The Makeline, but at least Chipotle employees can breathe easy since they won’t have to worry about online orders anymore and can focus on in-person orders.
Meanwhile, the internet has mixed feelings about having robots prepare their food. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we replaced all Chipotle customers with robots? They would understand what a portion size is, no sass, and wouldn’t always ask for a manager,” one Redditor opined. Another wrote, “There won’t be any more hookups of extra food and if anything you’ll get less. People say we skimp but if you look at our employee handbooks that teach us the ‘art of portioning’, we’re actually giving out more of certain items.” Chipotle will likely start using The Makeline for its burrito bowls in 2024, so it remains to be seen how the robots will affect food production or portion sizes at the restaurant.