Spyce, the Boston-based robot-centric restaurant, officially announced its revamped concept today. The new Spyce features an all new automated cooking system, a dynamic, customizable menu, and in-house delivery.
The first Spyce Kitchen restaurant burst on to the scene back in the Spring of 2018. The robot used in that incarnation featured a row of bowls that spun to mix and heat ingredients that were dropped into them. This new version, dubbed the “Infinite Kitchen” aesthetically seems more akin to Creator’s burger creating robot.
Spyce’s new food robot makes both salads and warm bowl food, and holds 49 separate recipes. Serving dishes are placed on a conveyor belt that runs underneath the dispensers, which automatically portion out the proper ingredients for each dish. There is also a plancha searing station to cook and dispense proteins and vegetables as well as a superheated steamer to cook pastas. The Infinite Kitchen can make up to 350 bowls in an hour, with the average bowl costing $11.
Food is ordered either through the Spyce mobile app or via in-store kiosk. The new menus feature real-time customization to meet dietary preferences such as keto or vegan, as well as eight different allergen requirements like gluten-free. The menu also lets you adjust to taste preferences like levels of sauce and spiciness. The new Spyce menu does not, however, offer red meat, which has been left off for environmental impact purposes.
Like just about every other restaurant looking to survive this pandemic, Spyce is also placing an emphasis on delivery. There is no dining room to eat in, though people can walk in to order and take out food. The robot and new ordering system work in conjunction with each other to ensure that food is prepared and ready just in time for delivery.
Spyce is extending its precise operational control to delivery as well. The company is using its own in-house delivery fleet, which will help Spyce retain more of the customer experience (and data) and help ensure a good delivery experience. Drivers are W2 employees and will use electric scooters outfitted with special hot side/cold side insulated containers to carry the food.
The new Spyce is located at 241 Washington St. and is open for lunch and dinner every day between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m.. Delivery is currently to the Back Bay, Battery Wharf, Financial District, North End and West End neighborhoods, with the delivery radius increasing to more neighborhoods in the coming weeks. Spyce also plans to open up a second location in Cambridge’s Harvard Square neighborhood later this fall.
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