The Robot Restaurant From the Chipotle Founder Is Temporarily Closed
The Robot Restaurant From the Chipotle Founder Is Temporarily Closed
Kernel, the robot-powered fast-casual spot from Chipotle founder Steve Ells, has temporarily closed to revamp the space and change a few items on the menu in response to criticisms the company has gathered since the restaurant opened in February.
The original location, at 315 Park Avenue South, near East 24th Street, closes today through around mid-July, according to a spokesperson, to make the takeout-only, cubby-lined space with a view of the giant robot arm, warmer. They’ll add “some things that typical restaurants have,” Ells told the Wall Street Journal, including “some seating, and some softness, and some pictures.”
The preparations aren’t just for this standalone location: The second Kernel is opening in Noho in August, according to a spokesperson. Ells was not available for an interview when Eater reached out.
Ells expanded on the changes in an early June podcast with Taste Cooking. “I thought we could have three people back ... and no people up front, and that customers would just know how to use the app,” Ells says. “And they would know how to open the cubbies, and they wouldn’t want to interact with people. And I got it wrong.”
Though he thinks that more people will want a streamlined to-go interaction in the future, for now, he says, “I think this notion of hospitality with a human is important.”
Ells continues that “gone are the days of the McJob ... the days when people want to flip burgers and make fries.” Instead, he tells host Matt Rodbard on the podcast, “we need to empower them with the ability to be engaging with customers, and operate operating sophisticated technology in a way that allows them to oversee the entire operation.” He confirms that Kernel employees start at $27 an hour, with full medical, dental, and vision benefits, as well as paid vacation.
The menu is changing a bit, too. While the restaurant opened with an all-vegan menu, it has since added cheese on the Kernel burger, “and some egg for real mayonnaise,” he says in the podcast. Ells says Kernel is also adding “real” chicken to the menu. Currently, he’s vetting chicken from an upstate source, claiming, in a conversation with the Wall Street Journal, “it will be a very, very special chicken sandwich.”
Kernel has also added a reuben made with corned yuba; an eggplant Parm, made with cubed roasted eggplant and mozzarella cheese in a patty; and the kernel burger patty, which apparently evokes a Big Mac, made with sweet potatoes, lentils, chickpeas, and some vegetables and herbs, available with cheese or without. As the menu expands and considers dabbling in meat, Kernel will also preserve vegan options.
The closure of Kernel mirrors a similar process, Ells told Taste Cooking, as the rollout of Chipotle, during which customers gave feedback on the early locations, and the restaurant revamped accordingly.
A gif from the Kernel newsletter sent in late June.
A newsletter image showing Kernel’s response to customer feedback.